China’s consumers slowly demanding change

"The more they are harmed, the more their awareness will grow, but that will take time," said Zhou Qing, author of a book on the shady world of Chinese food production.

Liu's odyssey offers a glimpse into the challenges confronting consumers in China.

She went to a hospital in Shenzhen in 1998 to have a cyst removed. While there, a doctor said he could turn her into a stunning beauty with a clear gel — at a 50 percent discount.

"I fell for it. I wasn't unhappy with my looks. Not so bad right?" Liu said, holding up a black and white photo of herself before the injections. Her hair is long and glossy. She's wearing dark lipstick and a small smile.

Then a successful sales manager, she plopped down $925 for four shots of gel into her temples and cheekbones. By 2004, the gel had hardened into a lump in her cheek that is still growing. Wide yawns shoot the pain through her temples.

The gel has traveled and will remain in her body for life. She risks facial paralysis if she tries to get it removed.

The doctor denied ever promising the gel could be safely removed and eventually refunded Liu's money. Lawyers in Shenzhen refused to take the case, saying there was no way to win against the powerful Fuhua Group conglomerate. Officials at Fuhua Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which made the gel, could not be reached for comment.

"I was so gullible. I knew nothing," said Liu, carefully sipping orange juice through a straw in a Beijing cafe, her jaw stiff. "I wished at that time there was someone who could help me with my rights."

The gel injected into Liu's face was a Ukrainian-made prototype for the product Fuhua later sold in China as "Ao Mei Ding," a Chinese play on the word "Amazing." The once wildly popular breast enlarger caused so much pain and disfigurement that some victims had their breasts removed. The gel was banned by Chinese regulators last year.

Liu returned to Beijing in 2005. Shenzhen, where Ao Mei Ding was regularly and aggressively marketed on television and radio, held too many bad memories.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for post-surgery costs, including the $6,600 she's spent, and for operations to remove the lump if she chooses, which could run up to $2,600 per visit.

Liu will likely have to wait months for results from the suit, if she gets them at all. But for her, the most important thing is to show that the company was wrong.

"It's not a matter of money," said Liu, her voice low and her speech slow from the lump. "My life is over."

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