# Red China Extracts Collagen From Executed Political Prisoners--Sold in the West
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 14, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581 "2005-09-14T12:37:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/1 "2005-09-14T12:37:13Z")
Yes, it seems to be true–China kills political prisoners & sells the skin as cosmetics in the West.
> **[The beauty products from the skin of executed Chinese prisoners](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/sep/13/medicineandhealth.china)**
>
> · Cosmetics firm targets UK market · Lack of regulation puts users at risk
> [@](#):
>
> A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an investigation by the Guardian has discovered.
> Agents for the firm have told would-be customers it is developing collagen for lip and wrinkle treatments from skin taken from prisoners after they have been shot. The agents say some of the company’s products have been exported to the UK, and that the use of skin from condemned convicts is “traditional” and nothing to “make such a big fuss about”.
Three cheers for our lovely trading partners.
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### Author:  [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/2 "2005-09-14T12:46:36Z")
What, you got something against recycling?
I smell a new slogan: China, going from Red to Green.
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/3 "2005-09-14T13:08:23Z")
_Once on the lips, forever on the Brits._
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/4 "2005-09-14T13:24:11Z")
It’s that or feed them to Mr. Wu’s pigs.
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### Author:  [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/5 "2005-09-14T13:29:33Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> It’s that or feed them to Mr. Wu’s pigs.
Which, in turn, we might end up eating.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/6 "2005-09-14T13:40:08Z")
> [@JeffB](#):
>
> Which, in turn, we might end up eating.
Enemy of the State - It’s what’s for dinner!
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### Author:  [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/7 "2005-09-14T13:45:50Z")
Chinese prisoners – the other Red meat.
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### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/8 "2005-09-14T14:23:44Z")
Those Reds can really get under one’s skin.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/9 "2005-09-14T14:29:55Z")
Gonna wash that man right out of my hair…
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/10 "2005-09-14T14:32:48Z")
Besides ethical issues, are there health issues here as well? Is there a significant risk of disease transmission possible?
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/11 "2005-09-14T14:45:57Z")
> [@Revtim](#):
>
> Besides ethical issues, are there health issues here as well? Is there a significant risk of disease transmission possible?
Probably no more than with Jello.
Say, there’s a thought. Is Jello **really** from cattle? 😃
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### Author:  [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/12 "2005-09-14T15:19:21Z")
[Charlton Heston] **Soylent Lancome is made from people!** [/CH] 🙂
By the way, **YUCK**!!!
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/13 "2005-09-14T15:23:00Z")
Nothing on Snopes yet. 🙂
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/14 "2005-09-14T15:23:21Z")
> [@slortar](#):
>
> Probably no more than with Jello.
>
> Say, there’s a thought. Is Jello **really** from cattle? 😃
There’s \*always \* room for PRIONS!
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/15 "2005-09-14T16:33:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> Nothing on Snopes yet. 🙂
Give’em a chance - the newspaper report only dates from yesterday!! (And I’d trust the Guardian over Snopes, anyway)
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### Author:  [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/16 "2005-09-14T19:52:58Z")
> [@](#):
>
> **Originally posted by the Guardian**
> It is unclear whether any of the “aesthetic fillers” such as collagen available in the UK or on the internet are supplied by the company, which cannot be identified for legal reasons.
What could the legal reasons possibly be?
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/17 "2005-09-14T21:10:28Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> Gonna wash that man right out of my hair…
So far, **Squink** wins.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/18 "2005-09-14T21:12:51Z")
Dr. Lecter’s cosmetics of choice.
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### Author:  [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/19 "2005-09-14T23:51:09Z")
Doesn’t the collagen used in U.S.-made cosmetics come from cadavers? But instead of being executed prisoners, they’re suckers who thought that signing a donor card meant that their body would help save lives, not be sold off as raw materials to some corporation. (Technically it’s illegal to sell human tissue; they get around it by “donating” the tissue and charging an enormous “handling fee”.)
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-china-extracts-collagen-from-executed-political-prisoners-sold-in-the-west/321581/20 "2005-09-21T15:11:28Z")
> [@slortar](#):
>
> Probably no more than with Jello.
>
> Say, there’s a thought. Is Jello **really** from cattle? 😃
Assuming the Jello is really from cattle, I’d think there’s much less risk from Jello because the material is from a different species, and not all diseases can infect multiple species. IIRC, very few of them can.
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