I think it is pretty clear that this statement is mainly meant for internal consumption. It is meant to make China look good to the Chinese, because the general Chinese public can't see how much of a lie it is. They can suspect it, but it's hard for them to know the extent of censorship in China.)
I'm just wondering if Congress is only giving a bullshit reason to prevent Russia from joining the WTO. Maybe they'd just say anything that will hold up in the international arena to prevent Russia from joining. After all, as a major power, Russia would have considerable influence in the highly undemocratic, supranational organization, and the United States always tries to do what it can to keep its influence and to not share its power with anyone else. Hell, Russia has already opened 4,000 cases and fined 2,000 people regarding piracy.
Of course, the excuse concerning intellectual property might have been created by generous donations from the RIAA (I haven't looked, and this is just speculation), but I'm not convinced that Congress' hesitation to allow Russia to join the WTO is actually about the RIAA or intellectual property.
Read some Russian editorials, and you might find entirely different viewpoints from what you're getting in the US.
Slashdot Mirror
I think it is pretty clear that this statement is mainly meant for internal consumption. It is meant to make China look good to the Chinese, because the general Chinese public can't see how much of a lie it is. They can suspect it, but it's hard for them to know the extent of censorship in China.)
I'm just wondering if Congress is only giving a bullshit reason to prevent Russia from joining the WTO. Maybe they'd just say anything that will hold up in the international arena to prevent Russia from joining. After all, as a major power, Russia would have considerable influence in the highly undemocratic, supranational organization, and the United States always tries to do what it can to keep its influence and to not share its power with anyone else. Hell, Russia has already opened 4,000 cases and fined 2,000 people regarding piracy.
Of course, the excuse concerning intellectual property might have been created by generous donations from the RIAA (I haven't looked, and this is just speculation), but I'm not convinced that Congress' hesitation to allow Russia to join the WTO is actually about the RIAA or intellectual property.
Read some Russian editorials, and you might find entirely different viewpoints from what you're getting in the US.