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Sony Begins Shipping PCs With Green Dam In China
Dotnaught writes "Sony is now shipping computers in China with Green Dam installed, in advance of the Chinese government's July 1 deadline. But the company is disclaiming responsibility for any damage caused by the Web filtering software. Documents posted by Hong Kong-based media studies professor Rebecca MacKinnon also suggest that the Chinese government is considering similar filtering requirements for mobile phones."
Then it would only be logical to demand that Sony be excluded from government contracts akin to Siemens and Nokia. Or are we scared to piss off the people that basically already own a good portion of the US trade market?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I can't claim credit for it as someone else on /. already said it, but who is to say that our western notions of freedom and democracy are right for the rest of the world?
Actually, they really don't have anywhere to go. Ask a Chinese citizen how difficult (nearly impossible) for anyone but the uber rich to get a visa to travel to a "first world" country.
Oh, and there is indeed a high degree of complacency about government control/meddling in their everyday lives. Mei ban fa.
Why do people still live there again?
1) What country do you live in?
2) would you be willing and able to take 1.3 billion refugees?
It would make more sense for you to boycott anything make in China, rather than anything made by Sony.
That basically settles it for me - I won't buy a sony product until things like this stops.
What, the two other rootkits were not enough for you? And yes, the fact that they got away with them is probably the reason that this has them not at all worried.
While I'm inclined to agree with you, there is an inherent danger in your position. You can't "force" freedom and democracy on a people, it doesn't work well. And if they don't know that freedom and democracy are best for them, interfering in their country's internal politics amounts to forcing freedom on them. Also, though your North Korea example is probably fairly accurate, I would say that the Chinese probably have a more sophisticated view of their government and what it does (and what they're willing to tolerate). Neither country is anything like Iran, where the people are very ready to overthrow their government, so much so that it's not a matter of if, but when they'll finally do it.
The West, and the US in particular, have difficulty seeing the distinctions between these kinds of nations, and tragedy has too often been the result of this short-sightedness. Take for example Afghanistan, where the US has overthrown the Taliban, and subsequently the Warlords have taken over and started most of the same repressive crap. Or Iraq immediately after the first Gulf war, when Iraqis, thinking they would have aid from the US, rose up against Saddam Hussein and were slaughtered by the thousands because the US stayed out of it. When it comes to achieving freedom for your people, timing is everything.
Rule of Slashdot #0: You and people like you are not representative of the larger population. - A.C.
I'd say there's a crucial difference. In the case of Iran, the technology is an export of oppressive technologies to an oppressive regime. In China's case, Green Dam is an internal program (supposedly) developed by Chinese coders. Regardless of how oppressive the program is (very oppressive), Sony is not developing it.
This doesn't make it alright or a good thing, but China would install this stuff on PCs either way. In the case of Iran, without foreign technology they would not have been able to filter internet transmissions.
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!
Oh, and there is indeed a high degree of complacency about government control/meddling in their everyday lives. Mei ban fa.
Sounds like the citizens of China are like the citizens in most other places. Remember only a small handful of people made much noise about the warrant-less wire-tapping, for example.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
I'm not sure about that. Chinese tourism (i.e. regular Chinese folks going abroad) is growing so rapidly they will soon eclipse the other major oubound-tourist countries, and they are already in fifth place when counting money spent on tourism abroad. I suspect the bigger trouble is finding countries that will give them visas. It's exceptionally difficult for nearly anyone to visit the US, and not just the Chinese.
He who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
For every person who is silenced, imprisoned and killed due to censorship from the content you ship, there is blood on your hands.
Why would a corporate mammon-worshiper care?
Free Martian Whores!