Gates Weighs in on Google-China Spat

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
It seems as though even Bill Gates has something to say about this whole Google vs. China thing. Microsoft's founder has a rather interesting take on the whole situation, calling the attack on Google a “complex issue.”

“The role of the Internet in every country has been very positive, letting people speak out in new ways," he said. "And fortunately the Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited. You know, it is easy to go around it."
Click to expand...
 
And fortunately the Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited. You know, it is easy to go around it
Click to expand...

He just got some poor chinese software monkey thrown in jail. :D
 
"You know, fortunately the trend towards openness and sharing ideas is being fostered in an incredible way."
Click to expand...

He's right about that. Even if we just wag our fingers at China and do nothing else, China's still slowly evolving into something resembling democracy. If you look at China now and 10 years ago, the people made huge strides against their government. They still have a very long ways to go though, but they are moving forward.
 
Azhar said:
He's right about that. Even if we just wag our fingers at China and do nothing else, China's still slowly evolving into something resembling democracy. If you look at China now and 10 years ago, the people made huge strides against their government. They still have a very long ways to go though, but they are moving forward.
Click to expand...

And that's why you'll never understand China. "huge strides against their government"... more like huge strides with their government.
 
Cyrilix said:
And that's why you'll never understand China. "huge strides against their government"... more like huge strides with their government.
Click to expand...

I think it's the combination of both. Their government would not change if they didn't think they're in danger of being mobbed by the people or sanctioned by other countries.
 
Sorry,but I haven't seen any huge strides. It's still the same country that massacred it's own people in Tiananmen Square. Their prisons are probably filled with people who would disagree that their efforts against the Internet are "limited".
 
BladeVenom said:
China is just doing what our government keeps trying to do.
Click to expand...

Dead wrong. Unlike the government of the United States, China is geared towards creating greater profit for their state (the party bureaucrats), and actually making a middle class grow.
 
all i read was "the windows piracy among all countries has been a very positive thing. people all around the world have access to windows and theyre using it. getting people to pay is only a second thought, because as you know, wga is easy to get around"

sorry i couldnt resist
 
Such an interesting issue. Ultimately China has not sealed it's borders and has chosen to participate in the world economy. As such they are now being taken over by corporations. Sure they are 25-50 years behind the corporate take over of the US, Europe, etc but they're on the train now... and there aren't many stops. The Chinese govt's roll in shaping the minds of their people will transition to the corporate world and while I don't see them becoming a negligible influence by any means I don't see them being able to keep the degree of control they once had.
 
Enlefo said:
Such an interesting issue. Ultimately China has not sealed it's borders and has chosen to participate in the world economy. As such they are now being taken over by corporations. Sure they are 25-50 years behind the corporate take over of the US, Europe, etc but they're on the train now... and there aren't many stops. The Chinese govt's roll in shaping the minds of their people will transition to the corporate world and while I don't see them becoming a negligible influence by any means I don't see them being able to keep the degree of control they once had.
Click to expand...

The west always makes the same mistake of believing one world view dominates all others.
 
Azhar said:
Eh I don't know. Money is a very universal culture and language.
Click to expand...

To an extent. I mean the chinese economy keeps trying to underplay its important on the world stage and purposefully keep their dollar value low to increase exporting while minimizing imports. It seems to be allowing their economy to grow and with large trade deficeits in their favor forming, the us just keeps going more and more in debt to China.

China will probably be extremely reluctant to ever increase their dollar value as long as it allows them to keep gradually owning more and more of ...everywhere. When you consider that the chinese loan money in Yuan, they will up their dollar value eventually but its a bit of a catch-22 for say the US government. If you own China, 8,000,000,000,000 yuan at a 8:1 dollar value exchange rate, you owe 1,000,000,000,000 trillion dollars. If suddenly china agrees to raise its yuan's world to 4:1 exchange rate. Ohh darn, US now owes 2 trillion dollars to pay back that yuan they borrowed. If they raise the exchange rate to 2:1, ohh darn. The US now owes 4 trillion dollars to pay back that yuan they borrowed.

So China keeps sucking the US government dry in trade deficiets. If we try to stop it by say raising the value of the yuan on the world market, it works in that us products will appear more reasonably priced next to chinese products. In that case, its the end of dollar-stores and discount warehouse stores like wal-mart/big-buy as their prices will be the same as the mom and pop store selling made-in-us products that might be located even closer to your home. The downside is the US economy tanks on the world-wide scale at that point as the US economy's debt doubles or quadrules or worse and we have to pay the interest on that debt. We effectively become screwed by China's 'no-worry, borrow now, pay just interest, pay later' credit-card-ish company policy.

So the question is, bite the bullet today and take a huge hit economically and start to severe ties with China or allow China to continue to bleed us dry? Most politicans pick option 2 as when the 'something-bad-smelling hits the fan', they won't be in power. Hopefully. I mean, Bush got out justtt in time to leave a pile of economic disaster for the next government. The next pile of economic disaster could be even worse awaiting the next government and the government after. Depending on if a government takes responsbility or not regardless of 'who' created the problem, 'when' and 'what political party' that president belonged to.
 
Code: 
Large population + authoritarian government

= worlds highest gdp per capita in 30 years*

*if that authority is used in a pro-business way,
and to crush any move toward anti-individual rights

How can anyone fail to see the inevitablity of this?

It's exactly* like how the united states overtook Europe by the mid 20th century

*except that the united states was the most middle class (economically equal) country in the world during the 19th century and already had the highest gdp per capita. It's population just grew and that lead lengthened. And forget the two world wars.
 
bleh I did a typo

but the gist of it remains I hope? China is going to bury everyone by the sheer power of capitalist wank.
 
Azhar said:
I think it's the combination of both. Their government would not change if they didn't think they're in danger of being mobbed by the people or sanctioned by other countries.
Click to expand...

See "Mandate of Heaven". Confucian teaching is that it's not only a right but an obligation to revolt against the government when the Mandate of Heaven is lost.
 
@jwalk6 true
@Ahzar ha! also very true.
@WBurchnall Well said sir. I would love to see the local economies at least partially restored by mallwart and others no longer being able to sell good made and sold by economic slaves. Not to mention the lessened enviromental impact of not making a bolt in china, shipping to mexico to go into a transmission, shipping that to china to go in a truck, then shipping that back to the US for sale... not "exactly" a real world example but pretty close.
 
jwalk6 said:
The west always makes the same mistake of believing one world view dominates all others.
Click to expand...

Sorry,wasn't paying attention in history.....who's trumped us so far? What America says, goes. They can all say we dont matter, but when America goes downhill guess who follows......
 
China is what we will all be in 20 years... a bunch of people that will have no say over anything that happens in our country. It was nice knowing you democracy!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top