Why China Can't Lure Tech Talent (bloomberg.com)

China may have been hoping to attract tech talent to its nation, but it is unlikely that people in the tech industry will move there. A columnist at Bloomberg explains why: The biggest problem is government control of the internet. For a software developer, the inconvenience goes well beyond not being able to access YouTube during coffee breaks. It means that key software libraries and tools are often inaccessible. In 2013, China blocked Github, a globally important open-source depository and collaboration tool, thereby forcing developers to seek workarounds. Using a virtual private network to "tunnel" through the blockades is one popular option. But VPNs slow uploads, downloads and collaboration. And it isn't just developers who suffer. Among the restricted sites in China is Google Scholar, a tool that indexes online peer-reviewed studies, conference proceedings, books and other research material into an easily accessible format. It's become a crucial database for academics around the world, and Chinese researchers -- even those with VPNs -- struggle to use it. The situation grew so dire this summer that several state-run news outlets published complaints from Chinese scientists, with one practically begging the nationalist Global Times newspaper: "We hope the government can relax supervision for academic purposes." The cumulative impact of these restrictions is significant. Scientists unable to keep up with what researchers in other countries are publishing are destined to be left behind, which is one reason China is having difficulty luring foreign scholars to its universities. Programmers who can't take advantage of the sites and tools that make development a global effort are destined to write software customized solely for the Chinese market. The author has raised several other reasons to make his case.

Comments

Also, the pollution

[Anonymous Coward]

I went to Beijing and it was pollution hell. Couldn't see further than 50 feet in front of you somedays.

Re:Also, the pollution

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope you do not actual write Software with that logic.

Having Control and using it to control pollution are not the same. They would rater make money then have Clean air. Just like Americain Companies did before the EPA.

You logic is the less Government control the cleaner the Air? History Disagrees.

No green cards, No ownership

[Anonymous Coward]

I lived in China for a year. I loved it. I love the culture, I love the country side. Even the pollution can be handled with a decent apartment with good window seals and air scrubbers. They people are fine (let's face it, all countries have great people and terrible people). But, the reason I, as a software engineer, won't go back: no green cards and you can't own property or start a business. Maybe when your 25 years old, the lack of unfettered internet is the worst thing you can think of. But, as you get older, you become more risk adverse. Why would I invest a life in a country where I cannot be granted permanent residence, even if I marry a citizen? I wouldn't; that's foolish.

Re: You will always be a foreigner

[Higaran]

That has always amazed me about other countries, I was born in Poland, but have grown up in the US from a very young age. When ever I go back to Poland, I only get treated by people I know closely like a local, but I consider myself an american. When every I go anywhere touristy I most people speak english to me before I've ever said a word. In the US after a few years you can become a citizen, in many other countries it takes generations, in the US everyone comes from somewhere else originally so it doesn't matter where you were from as long as you want to be and are a citizen now, I guess.

Living there is a mixed bag

[ukoda]

I lived in China for 2 years and there is a lot to both like and hate.

The good:
- The people are generally nice, easy to get on with.
- It is generally safe, I was never worried about where I went or when, within reason.
- The food is good, once you learn the gotchas.
- The electronics markets are the best in the world.

The bad:
- The Internet is truly horrible. I spent half my spare time curating VPNs to try and stay online. It is genuinely holding back China's tech sector. I was so glad when I returned home where the Internet just worked.
- Bureaucracy is a pain, everything is way more complicated than it needs to be. It took me a full day to change the ownership of my car when I sold it and I mean a full day, not just a few hours. Back home this take less than 5 minutes.
- Driving on China's roads is very stressful because of the lack of rule enforcement. I will never complain about drivers back home again.
- Pollution can make you feel unwell, much like having a cold. This was only a problem in the big cities, in small cities it is low enough to not affect you directly.

It has been a couple of years now since I lived there and from what I hear the Internet and pollution have both got worst since then.

Re:Living there is a mixed bag

[ukoda]

Don't drink the local milk (it made me sick more than once), buy imported milk from the supermarkets that have imports, such as Metro. Be aware that frozen goods are not shipped in refrigerated trucks so have often thawed and refrozen, even with places like Metro. As a result ice cream was often found to be inedible. Bread, in the region I was in, is often sweetened and tastes terrible as a result, but normal bread can be found in speciality shops. Don't judge a restaurant by how fancy it looks, note which ones are popular with the locals. If dinning out with suppliers don't show interest in something you won't eat, they mistake you horror as desire and you will find it ordered for you. Likewise you will likely be offered the menu to make choices, it is a sign of respect but you only need to order a couple of things and leave the rest to them, just got for the safe choices you recognise and you can wing it for the rest of the meal.

Re:You will always be a foreigner

[TheSync]

Indeed, China has 1,448 naturalised Chinese in total. Almost no foreigners are able to become citizens.

Even Japan, better known for hostility to immigration, naturalises around 10,000 new citizens each year; in America the figure is some 700,000.