China Blocks Bing Despite Microsoft's Censorship Compliance

[Lucian Armasu]

Microsoft Bing search engine appears to be blocked in China, despite the company following all of the country's censorship laws and rules. The Chinese government has refused to comment on the issue.

China Blocks Bing Despite Microsoft's Censorship Compliance : Read more

 

[Co BIY]

Part of the new trade war or part of business as usual with China?

My guess is that they got the technology transfer they were after and saw no more use for Microsoft.

 

[alextheblue]

Part of the new trade war or part of business as usual with China?

My guess is that they got the technology transfer they were after and saw no more use for Microsoft.

Business as usual.

What technology transfer? I've seen plenty of transfers and thefts regarding China over the years, but what did they get in this case?

 

[chickenballs]

They have pretty much created their own internet while blocking most of the foreign websites.
I know websites like DeviantArt, Flickr, Google, Facebook, Youtube, The New York Times, The Washington Post are all blocked. I wonder if tomshardware.co.uk is accessible in the PRC.
Bill Clinton argued about 20yrs ago when he lobbied to get the PRC into the WTO that increased trade would lead to more freedom for the people. I hope he's satisfied now seeing how much freedom of speech and human rights have spread through the country... what a moron

 

[bit_user]

Bill Clinton argued about 20yrs ago when he lobbied to get the PRC into the WTO that increased trade would lead to more freedom for the people.

A lot of people thought that. Not fair to pin it only on him.

What they missed is that a robust democracy is needed to keep capitalism in check. Capitalism doesn't need or even want democracy.

BTW, I wouldn't say the US has a robust democracy, but it's sure better than China.

 

[chickenballs]

well hes just one of 8 presidents since the early 1970s who hoped/believed that with trade and economic development the regime would be forced to give more freedom to its people. Even after all the shootings and tanks firing on unarmed students and workers in 1989 the us president sent envoys to make sure that they could keep doing business with the regime...
so much for all the talk about democracy and human rights

 

[mlee 2500]

Part of the new trade war or part of business as usual with China?

My guess is that they got the technology transfer they were after and saw no more use for Microsoft.

Business as usual.

What technology transfer? I've seen plenty of transfers and thefts regarding China over the years, but what did they get in this case?

A couple scenarios where it COULD be the case. Stipulating of course the obvious, that none of us can know for sure and are just speculating, we DO know for certain that China requires companies doing business on the mainland, and which host "end-user data" (which could be defined as a simple search engine query) to be hosted in-country. There are varying degrees of compliance of course, but almost none of the big boys get away with thumbing their nose that this requirement entirely.

Search engine algorithms and code is valuable IP, and if Microsoft didn't adequately separate these jewels from the in-country component (for performance or other reasons), then Microsoft would hardly be the first to have that IP stolen, as the "in-country" laws primary exist as a state-sponsored mechanism to accommodate theft.

Basically, if you want the market, you almost have to give up ownership of your IP. And they get away with it all the time. Sometimes you can get around it via Taiwan, but only in very limited circumstances.

 

[mlee 2500]

Bill Clinton argued about 20yrs ago when he lobbied to get the PRC into the WTO that increased trade would lead to more freedom for the people.

A lot of people thought that. Not fair to pin it only on him.

What they missed is that a robust democracy is needed to keep capitalism in check. Capitalism doesn't need or even want democracy.

BTW, I wouldn't say the US has a robust democracy, but it's sure better than China.

Yeah I would argue that our continued granting of "most favored nation" trade status is what precipitated the problems we have today, and could have been avoided if we had diversified that privilege better across other APAC nations.

Too late now. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle, but it's not too late to start developing and promoting competing economies in the area (though that would likely require a government capable of long-view planning beyond the next 4 year election cycle...maybe something like Chinese-style "Communism"!).

 

[csar87523]

China is Nothing More than a Punk-Ass-Bully, if it's not their way they wine. If you are able to do business like MS that sold MS-Student @ $4.00 ea! Than they will Reverse-Engineer anything & Everything just ask Russia with Mig-29!! The USA Should COMPLETELY PULL-OUT of China "It's Not Worth The Head-Aches. Just ASK Australia!!

 

[csar87523]

Do you Really want to KNOW China than watch china-uncensored dot com. They will open your eyes but I have to warn YOU! Its will Piss-You-OFF !!

 

[GotMilked]

China is first and foremost recipient of fake news and slander propagated under the banner of "freedom and democracy", so this comes of no surprise.

 

[GotMilked]

I remember when about a decade or so ago when Facebook and YouTube and the such were still accessible in China, but there was such a level of fake news madness directed against the Chinese people and the government, especially with the Tibet story, that the censorship really got tightened down heavily since; curiously, Americans find themselves as targets of fake news and propaganda from outside players, Russia in particular, they too want to arrest and prosecute those deemed to have wrongly influenced American politics.