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Helping Other Big Brothers Go High Tech

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the keep-your-enemies-closer dept.

Dino writes "BusinessWeek has an interesting article about the export of high-tech equipment to China's security forces, and the dilemma that it creates. On the one hand, there is the desire to increase exports to a country with which there is a trade imbalance. On the other hand, we face a situation in which the technology can be used to track dissidents and unauthorized religions. Restrictions have been enacted since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to prevent exports intended to the Chinese security forces. However, the restrictions have been applied narrowly, and effectively prevent only low-tech exports such as handcuffs, helmets, fingerprint powder, and tear gas, while DB software, two-way radios, DNA analysis gear, and video probes, are allowed."

3 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Very Interesting Rewording by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The actual headline in Business Week's article in the linked article is "Helping Big Brother Go High Tech ", yet the slashdot headline is slyly reworded to "Helping Other Big Brothers Go High Tech".

    I wonder this was just an innocent mistake or if the submitter intentionally reworded this to imply there are other big brothers we are helping. If so, let's see the evidence, otherwise this slight modification of text comes out of the pages of Animal Farm.

    Hmm..

  2. Free market by gethoht · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The free market attitude is what dominates us policy(except for huge subsidies to oil companies, tax breaks to mega corps, etc...)

    Profit will always trump most other ideals in business today.

    --
    All things are subject to interpretation, whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and n
  3. If you think about it . . . by DrMrLordX · · Score: 3, Interesting

    . . . nearly anything could potentially be used in the repression of free thought and free religion in China. Dealing with the Chinese at all, under any circumstance, could easily be construed as indirect support for China's totalitarian political infrastructure. Why split hairs over database software and DNA testing equipment? If you're going to be dealing with them at all, you've got to accept the risk that something you sold them might eventually be used to track down, restrain, or even torture a political dissident or practitioner of unsanctioned religion. It's China, what do you expect?

    Besides, if American firms don't sell them what they want, they'll either buy it elsewhere or rip off a foreign design and make it themselves.