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Twitter Appoints Chief In China With Former Chinese Military Ties (nytimes.com)

Posted by msmash on from the what's-happening? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The Sinosphere blog at the NYT reports that Twitter has appointed Kathy Chen as Chief for the Greater China Region. Ms. Chen served as an engineer in the Chinese military in the 1980s. After that, she was involved in a joint venture that was partly owned by the country's powerful domestic security ministry. She posted on Friday a message of cooperation to China Central Television, the state-run broadcaster. The language resembled President Xi Jinping's call to the Chinese media to "tell the China story well." Twitter has been and remains blocked in China by the "Great Firewall".Quartz has more details.

17 comments

  1. Well... by the_skywise · · Score: 1

    That'd be par for the course.

    1. Re:Well... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      TFA is making a big deal about nothing. Plenty of people have served in the military (including me), and in America it is illegal to discriminate against veterans. It is also illegal to discriminate against active members of the National Guard and Reserves. Why should it be different in China? To succeed in China, Twitter needs to get some guanxi. This looks like a smart move.

    2. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The story is about whether it is ethical to succeed in China.

    3. Re: Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every tech person I know from Israel did time in the army...

  2. Freedom lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Between Government takeover/tracking, and political correctness, freedom of thought is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

    Instead of the internet being a place to freely share ideas, we'll actually have to go old school, and meet face to face to share ideas freely.

    1. Re:Freedom lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spoken like a true, open-minded liberal.

    2. Re:Freedom lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The party of tolerance - Tolerant as long as you think EXACTLY the way they do.

      They are literally forcing 1984 down upon us. The left only WISHES they had the power the Chinese have, to limit the free exchange of non-government approved ideas.

  3. Social media serves only to steal ideas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If You use Facebook, You have no chance at all of being my friend. Or do You think that I don't like You just because You have retarded friends? That's how ugly You're. You need makeup, photoshop and an army of virgins to keep secure about your raped life.

  4. Is there any other way? by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This was either strategic or outright necessary to do business in China. Some places, this is just how things are done.

  5. But see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can't succeed in China if you're ethical. Just to start a business, everyone in the local government chain's got to be paid, or you'll have inspections of your business premise daily up to your anus. If you're even moderately successful (like, breaking even) the local street thugs (that are often one and same as the government officials) wants in on that action too. If you're connected, they'll just take their cut. If you're not... well, you can kiss that business of yours goodbye; they'll seize your business, toss your butt in jail (until a ransom paid for your release.) But whatever your final disposition may be, what business you built will no longer be yours.

    1. Re:But see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't succeed in China if you're ethical.

      That pretty much indicts every company in the west as unethical, since they are all there.

    2. Re:But see... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      You can't succeed in China if you're ethical.

      What is "ethical" depends on context. Both Americans and Chinese value honesty and loyalty, but there is a different emphasis. In America, it is considered wrong to use an official position to help your family and friends. That is because we put integrity above loyalty. But many Chinese would see it the other way around. Loyalty comes first. Using your position to help your relatives is not only acceptable, but often admired. In both societies there is a balance, but the fulcrum is in different positions.

      Just to start a business, everyone in the local government chain's got to be paid

      This is a gross misrepresentation of Chinese business. I lived in Shanghai for several years, started a business there, and still travel there regularly. Although there is plenty of corruption at the top, low level petty corruption is not common in China. Maybe even less common than in America. You would likely get in big trouble if you offered a bribe to a cop. Many bureaucrats will offer to "expedite" a process for a fee, but you can still get things done without "paying off" anyone, it will just take a little longer, and I have never heard of violence or harassment toward people that didn't pay a bribe.

    3. Re:But see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      American corruption at high level is simply more sophisticated, so sophisticated that 99% of people can't understand it even when nothing is hidden.

      "In America, it is considered wrong to use an official position to help your family and friends. That is because we put integrity above loyalty."

      _Considered wrong_... but when has that stopped anyone. China feels less need for self-deception.

  6. Sounds like a plan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like Twitter has finally realized that they aren't any better than the censorious chinese government.

    Now that they've arrived at said conclusion they can finally do away with all the prevarication and get right down to business - hiring a professional censor will go a long way to prevent thoughtcrime.

  7. Trump 2016 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's hope the chicoms and ISIL dune coons wipe each other out. Then America will be great again.

  8. Well, Twitter has a Trust and Safety Council now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://news.slashdot.org/stor...

    She'd fit right in. Perhaps that's the whole point. The Chinese have long been concerned about trust and safety on the Internet (knida why there's a Great Firewall). Maybe Twitter wants to learn a thing or two from them.