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China Internet Report 2018 (abacusnews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

At Rise Conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Abacus executive producer Ravi Hiranand, South China Morning Post technology editor Chua Kong Ho, and 500 Startups partner Edith Yeung presented China Internet Report 2018, highlighting the big names and wider trends shaping China's technology. The takeaway: China has nearly 3 times the number of internet users as the United States, and the gap will only widen: China has 772 million internet users, vastly more than the 292 million in the US. And there's still plenty of room to grow -- internet penetration is only at 55% in China, while in the US, it's 89%.

Beijing is China's unicorn capital: Some of China's biggest tech giants may have started in Shenzhen, but Beijing leads the way with 31 tech unicorns. (Shenzhen has just 11!)

China's internet giants are doing everything: From streaming video to self-driving cars, the big three (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) are present in almost every tech sector, either by investing in startups or by building it themselves.

Government policy continue to actively shape China's tech industry.

China's online shopping giants are going offline.
China loves short videos.

WeChat's mini-programs are cementing its place as China's virtual mobile operating system: Mini-programs, which are no bigger than 10 megabytes and running in the WeChat app are gaining ground -- WeChat now hosts 1 million mini-apps, and the number of people who use them daily is expected to reach 400 million.

China lags behind the US in AI, but the government wants to catch up -- soon.

China is making smart speakers but Chinese users aren't buying them: There are now over 100 smart speaker developers in the country (including all of the tech giants), but demand isn't there yet -- in 2017, only 350,000 smart speakers were sold in China, compared to 25 million in the US.

China is now the world's biggest gaming market: It accounts for more than aquarter of the world's total gaming revenue (the US is close behind in second). And it's dominated by two players: Tencent and NetEase, who jointly have over 60% market share in China.

78 comments

  1. quick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    America owns the world - apparently

    1. Re:quick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      America owns the world, China owns America's bank accounts, China owns the world.

      Maybe THEY will have the guts to go against religions, unlike America and Europe.

  2. Re:President Trump WINS each and every day! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He wakes up each day and reads Slashdot. He laughs at the beta males and thrives on their cry baby tears.

    He laughs at SJWs, the libbers, the beta males, the trans freaks, the fairies, and the dykes. He laughs at you each day, and oh what a laugh it is! It echoes through the corridors and halls of the Trump White House, a hearty deep laugh like thunder in the mountains! He laughs at liberal tears, and spits on the graves of SJW suicides. He WINS every day, and grows stronger with every tick of the clock. This is YOUR President. This is President Trump!

    And the entire world laughs back at him like the giant man baby clown he is. What a fucking joke, good one america, keep the punchlines coming.

  3. who cares about China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They can't produce anything by themselves they need us to think for them. China will be irrelevant as soon as we stop letting them spy on us.

    1. Re:who cares about China by lucasnate1 · · Score: 1

      Will the united states be relevant if china stopped giving it cheap production and waste disposal?

      --
      Avantgarde Hebrew science fiction
    2. Re:who cares about China by Karmashock · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you know how much cheaper china is than the US at this point?

      Its marginal.

      First because labor costs are decreasing in relevance as we automate.

      Second because chinese labor costs have gone up.

      Third because various things in china other than labor are more expensive than in the US.

      Fourth because there are often unaccounted costs to doing business in china such as forced tech transfers, IP theft, etc that ultimately can erase all gains.

      There is more... but that makes the point that it is more complicated and the cost of doing business in china is not that much cheaper than in the US.

      And because I won't be believed and no one uses a search engine to inform themselves absent it getting jammed in their faces:
      http://fortune.com/2015/06/26/...

      China is replaceable in the US supply chain. We only used them because we are making a lot of things in other countries in east asia and china was a reasonable place to assemble things. Totally replaceable.

      I know I know... lots of either clueless or politically motivated asshats running around running their mouths saying X or Y must be and the status quo is forever.

      Think for yourselves.

      Note the UK is also cheaper than Germany. Add that to your thinking on the Brexit discussions. ;)

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    3. Re:who cares about China by lucasnate1 · · Score: 1

      If it's so easy to replace them, why doesn't the united states do it?

      --
      Avantgarde Hebrew science fiction
    4. Re: who cares about China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can produce new Chinese citizens just fine. Can you produce a non-Chinese citizen?

    5. Re:who cares about China by Karmashock · · Score: 2

      How many recommended FDA servings are there in an elephant? When a man goes to Costco etc and buys a one gallon jar of mayonnaise... how does he propose to use it all?

      One serving at a time.

      It took us over ten years to get here... how long will it take us to get out? If we work at it, another ten years.

      The man asks why are we not doing it? The man does not know that we ARE doing it. What the man means is "why haven't we ALREADY done it?"... Time.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      You might as well ask from the rear seat of the car on the way to Disneyland... "are we there yet" no more than a mile from the old man's house.

      Patience. See the big picture. See the forest instead of the tree for a minute. Its all relative and just as China could be made something from nothing something else can be made to take its place.

      Houses are built... men come along, prepare the earth, lay the foundation, build up the walls, and plop a roof on it. What ever shall we do if we lose one building or another? Why we'll have to go through the trouble to make another one.

      Really not that big of a deal.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    6. Re:who cares about China by AlwinBarni · · Score: 2

      It's not so as you think. It's true that countries are spying on each other for political and economical reasons and China is known for recently acquiring lots of tech "from abroad", but do the research and you will see a bigger picture in which US raise in technology was due to heavy investments and acquired German tech after WWII and China has always been innovative (paper, gun powder, rockets, bridge, gliders, parachute, print, and many more, preceding Europe by centuries) and now due to - yes heavy investments in science, it is already getting close, e.g. they're the first to transmit quantum encrypted messages via a satellite. Considering the current political landscape, China will keep progressing and the history will tell you that they do not need somebody else to think for them.

    7. Re:who cares about China by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      India.

      India is where new manufacturing will take place.

      Africa would be, but the inherent low skilled population combined unstable / corrupt governance makes it too risky as an investment.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    8. Re:who cares about China by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      India.

      India is where new manufacturing will take place.

      Africa would be, but the inherent low skilled population combined unstable / corrupt governance makes it too risky as an investment.

      Africa will probably be more stable and have better education by the time India reaches the state that China is now. It's interesting how the mantel always gets passed on... At one point America was a cheap place for Europeans to get goods from. Then Japan became a cheap place for Americans to get goods from. Now the world gets its goods from China. No doubt, India and Indonesia are the next countries to take that role- and Africa won't be far behind them.

      Give it 200 years and everyone will be importing cheap goods from backwater Europe. It is all cyclical.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    9. Re:who cares about China by butchersong · · Score: 1

      Africa will probably be more stable and have better education by the time India reaches the state that China is now.

      I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to occur...

    10. Re: who cares about China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Produce a non-Chinese citizen? I don't even have access to the other half of a baby factory!

      But if you find me a cute Chinese baby factory circa 1998, I'm willing to try.

    11. Re:who cares about China by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      I have high hopes for the development and modernity of the Indian people, however I think the larger changes are being ignored here...

      The need for cheap labor in far away places to do menial tasks relies on that cheap labor being economically efficient.

      Look at the combine harvester and what that did to slave cotton picking economics?

      Machines can make literal slave labor uneconomical.

      So, what work would you put the Indians to that the machines aren't coming for like a shot already?

      Entire economic paradigms are going to have to sway in the breeze or snap at the root.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    12. Re:who cares about China by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      Snap at the root.

      China will be hung by its own petard with robotics. How will the government handle millions of workers displaced by robotics? They were employed, and soon might not be.

      Robotics / automation is a double-edge sword. On one hand, it provides material wealth for all society due to cheap goods. On the other, it's an inherent deflationary monetary force on the economy.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    13. Re:who cares about China by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      it also renders one of china's primary contributions irrelevant... the other one is a willingness to pollute their country.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  4. Smart microphones by CanEHdian · · Score: 2

    China is making smart speakers but Chinese users aren't buying them: There are now over 100 smart speaker developers in the country (including all of the tech giants), but demand isn't there yet -- in 2017, only 350,000 smart speakers were sold in China, compared to 25 million in the US.

    Maybe the Chinese term is Listens-all-the-time? We-hear-all-you-say? Or smart microphones? That is what we should start calling them, they will sell a lot less in North America too.

    --
    When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
    1. Re:Smart microphones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's quite well known that Asians are smarter. No surprise they didn't fall for it like Americans clearly have.

    2. Re: Smart microphones by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tbh I don't understand why Americans buy them. When I've seen them in use, the use cases are narrow and the implementation frustrating.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:Smart microphones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's pretty frustrating when you say Arexa over and over and the damn thing doesn't respond

    4. Re: Smart microphones by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

      I got a free Amazon Echo Dot a couple years ago, it sat around collecting dust until 3 months ago. Now we have it in the kitchen and use it mostly as a radio. I have a small bluetooth speaker that we can move around the house that is paired with the device. A few other uses is to check the weather forecast for the day and also set timers while cooking. My wife and I sometimes fight for control of the next song, she's big into Abba while I prefer something along the lines of Dave Matthew's Band...

      I do not have the urge to go out and buy more for other areas of the house but it works out for us. And it was free.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    5. Re: Smart microphones by The+Snazster · · Score: 1

      Mine works great, wouldn't be without it (several of them, actually).

    6. Re:Smart microphones by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's that time of the month.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    7. Re: Smart microphones by snookiex · · Score: 1

      Sure, mate, it was free, just like Facebook.

      --
      Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
  5. Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That makes sense. If you live in a country where you have known that everyone and their dog is eavesdropping on you 24/7, you are wary of such trojan horses.

    Only in countries where the population isn't used to a government that makes it their business to spy on you the people could possibly be gullible enough to buy such crap.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand why people like you complain about government snooping via smart speakers but don't take issue with it being done via smart phones. Those have been around a lot longer.

    2. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In that case I don't know why americans buy them, when the NSA and CIA have acted like they wanted on American soil (and beyond). Not to mention Facebook. Seems to me Americans are dumber and/or unable to understand their surroundings, whereas Chinese seem to know a bit better what's going on.

    3. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Maybe because smartphones were not the topic of this report?

      If I have to list all the things that upset me about governmental spying on us every time I complain about one aspect, I guess I should start preparing a copy/paste statement or I'll have carpal tunnel before the day is over.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      No, just less used to the consequences. The Chinese (and in former times, people living in Soviet states) had a pretty good idea what's happening to them if they say something the government doesn't like. The US government acts in a more refined way. First, whatever you're not supposed to say is being made "bad", this is hyped with one of the biggest propaganda machines since the fall of the Third Reich, and as soon as you have support of the population you can make it illegal, or at the very least cow people into compliance some other way. Whether you play the patriotism or the social equality strings only depends on what you want people to shut up about.

      The key is to not forbid something, but to get people to want it forbidden.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That makes sense. If you live in a country where you have known that everyone and their dog is eavesdropping on you 24/7, you are wary of such trojan horses.

      Those who use smart microphones them don't really care about privacy. And in a country where eavesdropping is that prevelant, not having one isn't exactly an effective deterrent.

      Only in countries where the population isn't used to a government that makes it their business to spy on you the people could possibly be gullible enough to buy such crap.

      Perhaps the true gullibility is with people in countries who actually believe spying on citizens isn't something their government does.

    6. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      From my observation, these 'smart speakers' are not very good yet for Chinese. There are so many different dialects and accents. Standard Mandarin is mostly spoken everywhere, but to varying degrees and certain sounds vary quite a bit from region to region. I know a couple people who tried them, with poor results.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    7. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Only in countries where the population isn't used to a government that makes it their business to spy on you the people could possibly be gullible enough to buy such crap.

      Arguably, Americans are more used to their government spying on them. They're so used to it, they don't even notice.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If I have to list all the things that upset me about governmental spying on us every time I complain about one aspect, I guess I should start preparing a copy/paste statement or I'll have carpal tunnel before the day is over.

      And if you made a jerking-off motion every time someone left some moronic response to a comment on Slashdot, you'd have it even sooner :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because at least the smartphones offer some pretty good value to me in exchange for the invasion of my privacy. These ridiculous speakers don't even offer that. I can increase the volume with a knob thank you.

      I mean if you want to dress the smart speaker up as an Ariana Grande sexbot, sure, I'll keep a few in my house.

    10. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to go out on a limb here, and guess your passport (assuming you have one) does NOT have a Chinese entry stamp on it?

    11. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong, because GUNS.
      --
      c6gunner

    12. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Because guns are really effective against attack helicopters, fighter jets and missiles!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    13. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because guns are really effective against attack helicopters, fighter jets and missiles!

      It all depends on if you know where the pilots wife and kids live.

    14. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vietnam. Afghanistan.

    15. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      USA citizens cannot have AK-47's... can they?

    16. Re:Chinese don't buy smart speakers by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      USA citizens cannot have AK-47's... can they?

      The short answer is "not really", which is unconstitutional right on its face. There are some already in the country, and if you spend scads of money then you can have one. (Also unconstitutional — NY's ban on saturday night specials was shot down as being unfair to the poor.) Otherwise, no.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    KARATE CHOP

    1. Re:CHINESE by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

      Karate is from Japan. (or at least the place it is from is part of modern Japan)

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  7. USA #1 Fsck Yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "America First"

    Good luck with that ;-)

  8. UK is to Germany as China is to US? by Layzej · · Score: 1

    Note the UK is also cheaper than Germany. Add that to your thinking on the Brexit discussions.

    The UK may become Germany's China?

    1. Re:UK is to Germany as China is to US? by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      You can green eggs and ham that if that is your pleasure... I can certainly empathize with north by north west thinking. ;)

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  9. world's biggest gaming market by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 1

    Well, off course, everyone in China is game to freely hunt upon. Especially if you are a privacy-invading tech giant.

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
  10. If only every Chinaman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Buys just one bottle of Coke...

  11. WeChat & miniprograms vs web & PWAs by dwater · · Score: 2

    > WeChat's mini-programs are cementing its place as China's virtual mobile operating system: Mini-programs, which are no bigger than 10 megabytes and running in the WeChat app are gaining ground -- WeChat now hosts 1 million mini-apps, and the number of people who use them daily is expected to reach 400 million.

    The penetration of WeChat is quite worrying when considering the future of internet/web (in China, at least), but also these mini-programs seem to be a direct threat to PWAs (as well as native apps). Any entity that wants to get value from the internet in China needs to master these technologies. I see Tesla have already realised this:

    "Tesla has a mini-program enabling users to locate charging stations, schedule a test-drive and share their experiences about driving a Tesla car"
    https://walkthechat.com/wechat...

    --
    Max.
    1. Re:WeChat & miniprograms vs web & PWAs by hnjjz · · Score: 1

      Part of the popularity of WeChat mini-programs is likely due to the fact that you can develop a single program and have it work on anything that WeChat works on, whether it be iPhone, Android, or some other platform. Since pretty much every smart phone in China has WeChat installed, this allows developers to reach all smart phone users without having to develop iPhone and Android specific apps.

    2. Re:WeChat & miniprograms vs web & PWAs by dwater · · Score: 1

      Yes, that is surely true.

      There also a similar issue with having to use multiple 'app stores' to gain access to the user-base, and the varying rules they enforce.

      Perhaps it'll be a 'good thing' since it'll tend to move people away from app stores, particularly Apple's but also the multitude of Android ones (Google's is irrelevant, of course, but there are other Android ones), but it's a little worrying that it moves to a single platform independent one controlled by a single company. I can't see TenCent giving up that kind of control.

      PWAs have a similar problem since the level of implementation varies with platform and browser. You can develop with a single set of technologies, and distribute via the web, but the app still needs to take account of what platform its running on (different features/codecs, and even when they're the same they are implemented differently).

      --
      Max.
  12. Shenzhen has just 11! ...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Beijing is China's unicorn capital: Some of China's biggest tech giants may have started in Shenzhen, but Beijing leads the way with 31 tech unicorns. (Shenzhen has just 11!)

    Seems like 39,916,800 is much larger than 31? ...Shenzhen wins!

  13. Forget Alexa - we're screwed, deservedly so by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    How can you all be so stupid? Listening "speakers" are so not the issue.

    Chinese companies with direct access to the largest market behind the moat of language and xenophobia will have 3-5 times the resources of any western company.

    Plus, they're already buying or stealing the best of our technology -- x86 courtesy AMD, jets courtesy Boeing, etc. - i.e., courtesy our business and technical leaders who are selling out for their own advancement.

    We will have no control over our economy or our lives. We will be the dog's tail. Jobs will be in China, to keep Chinese citizens happy. Western companies will supply food and natural resources to China and India, and neither of them will care a whit about the conditions of work or life.

    Following the policies of Bush and Trump, they will use an assertive nationalistic ideologies instead of collaborative democratic ones.

    What goes around, comes around.

  14. The Soviet Union had by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    a lot of magazines and newspapers too. They all got censored just like the internet is now in Communist China.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  15. "mini" by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

    Mini-programs, which are no bigger than 10 megabytes

    *Angrily boots up Tandy 1000*
    *Me, an embedded engineer*: Tng n zhège xio péngkè!

  16. Unicorn capital by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    Beijing is the unicorn capital of the world?

    Moving the wife to Beijing with me to pick up some of the hot Asian ladies interested in being unicorns.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:Unicorn capital by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      What do you mean? Twilight Sparkle or Rarity?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Unicorn capital by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      A unicorn is a woman who wants to be in a relationship with an established man/wife couple. ... so yes, Twilight Sparkle. She's kinky like that.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    3. Re:Unicorn capital by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      unicorn is reference to strap-on?

    4. Re:Unicorn capital by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      A unicorn is a woman who wants to be in a relationship with an established man/wife couple.

      Since when?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    5. Re:Unicorn capital by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      A unicorn is a woman who wants to be in a relationship with an established man/wife couple.

      Since when?

      I don't know when, but the term has been around at least a couple of decades.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  17. This just in by houghi · · Score: 1

    Countries with large populations have more people. More news at 11:00.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  18. wrong terminology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    china does not have "772 million internet users". they have 772 million intranet users who happen to be able to access some internet sites that the government allows.

  19. cue racist trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and basement dwellers.

    Eh that was kinda redundant.

    1. Re:cue racist trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live in California, and I have no basement, you insensitive clod!

  20. This also just in by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Countries with large populations have larger people. More news at 11:30.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  21. Re:You rotten bastards like & use my work... a by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK by 110010001000 October 27 2017

    110010001000 has got to be the biggest dumb ass on /. This is more of an anti-endorsement.

  22. Impersonating me AGAIN?... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: "Imitation=sincerest form of flattery" PROVING u WISH u were ME & poor imitation = u.

    * I don't post on hosts in topics that don't fit it (unless you of "moron kind" bring it up 1st)

    (Hence, you give yourself away you're impersonating me!)

    APK

    P.S.=> What are you trying (& failing) to accomplish? Trying to "make me look bad"?? I have to ask as it's EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for me to "think like 'your kind'" (no-mind do-NOTHING "ne'er-do-wells" that can't think, lol) to even TRY to understand your "mental processes" (none obviously that are up to any good)... apk

  23. Need to learn Mandarin, not English by aberglas · · Score: 1

    It used to be that to write software, your really needed decent English. How could anyone write a line of code without Stack Overflow?

    But it occurs to me that to write a WeChat miniprogram you need to read Mandarin. And well.

    The educated Chinese already read English but we do not read Mandarin.

    (Indians all speak English for tech work anyway among themselves -- there is often no other common language. The Russians are not so important.)

    1. Re:Need to learn Mandarin, not English by dwater · · Score: 1

      interesting...do you have any references? I had a quick look for dev guides, but I didn't come up with anything.

      --
      Max.
    2. Re:Need to learn Mandarin, not English by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It used to be that to write software, your really needed decent English. How could anyone write a line of code without Stack Overflow?

      But it occurs to me that to write a WeChat miniprogram you need to read Mandarin. And well.

      The educated Chinese already read English but we do not read Mandarin.

      Wow, such a huge prize for such a trivial investment of effort. This is like how I studied Latin for 5 years, and as a result I can now work out what year buildings were put up.

    3. Re:Need to learn Mandarin, not English by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      This is like how I studied Latin for 5 years, and as a result I can now work out what year buildings were put up.

      More like you studied Latin for 5 minutes and spent the rest of the time giving yourself hand shandies.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it