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One of the prominent Chinese VCs, Neil Shen from Sequoia China, was on the Economist's podcast recently talking about AI in China. When the host asked Shen abou

• mgr86 9y ago
  that is fascinating. I can only wonder what sort of facial expression he had during the questioning.
• 77pt77 9y ago
  Your comment doesn't make it justice. The audio is totally amazing! One of the most significant silences I've heard in a long time.
  • seppin 9y ago
    "..no" When a Snowden for China finally emerges, I think it's going to be far worse than anyone imagined. And people like Shen are complicit with their silence.
    • yarg 9y ago
      People like Shen have families.
      • frozenport 9y ago
        So what? The victims of the Chinese regime also have families.
        • cirath 9y ago
          I almost didn't want to type this, because not really sure if trolling or if typing this out doesn't count as pointing out the obvious -- but the implication is that Shen is a victim of the Chinese regime.
          • muro 9y ago
            What nonsense is that? If you are helping to build an oppressive system, you are not the victim, you are complicit / oppressor.
            • wu-ikkyu 9y ago
              It is possible to be both a victim and an oppressor, especially when the oppressors above have great leverage over the subject
              • frozenport 9y ago
                Neil Shen Founding Managing Partner, Sequoia Capital China Real Time Net Worth — as of 8/15/17 $1.06 B (!) https://www.forbes.com/profile/neil-shen/ https://www.forbes.com/profile/neil-shen/ This guy is actively building the instruments of oppression and making a ton of money doing it. Certainly doesn't match the kind of unilateral oppression connotated by the word "victim".
              • muro 9y ago
                [edited to be more civil]. Nope, not a victim when he's getting so rich doing it.
        • yarg 9y ago
          I'm saying he's a prisoner, no matter where he goes in the world. As long as he has ties to communist China he is a prisoner. And there's a good chance that he does not or cannot even allow himself the freedom of mind to acknowledge it. I've noticed something with the Chinese people I've spoken to, as much as they acknowledge that "the government is bad", they agree with them in all regards. They quite simply cannot come to terms with the notion that the reality presented to the in school and by the media, throughout their entire lives, is simply a façade. Is Shen complicit? Quite possibly. But the Chinese government seeks for all it's citizenry to act not as individuals but as a unified whole. Outside of the higher levels of government it becomes very difficult to allocate individual shares of blame.
          • frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
            Just because the government in china tries to get its citizenry to act as a whole doesn't mean they still don't have individual levels of responsibility. Shen in particular because his silence on that podcast is a tacit admission that he knows these systems are going to allow the chinese government even more control over the speech of their citizens. "All it takes for evil to triumph..." and all that.
            • Sangermaine 9y ago
              It's easy to talk big about what people should do when it's not your family on the line.
              • frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
                And it's easy to forgive cowards when you know you would be one. The point is neither. I don't know what I would do were I in Shen's shoes (I may be even less prone to action than him) but that has no bearing on what his inaction is. It's cowardice. It's not even like he's some chinese everyman, he's rich enough he could get asylum.
          • frozenport 9y ago
            This guy is pretty high up: https://www.forbes.com/profile/neil-shen/ https://www.forbes.com/profile/neil-shen/
      • mac01021 9y ago
        I suspect that speaking frankly on the air about that topic would not threaten his family so much as it would threaten his career, which likely depends to a large extent on his relationship with a number of people in the Communist Party.
        • Stanleyc23 9y ago
          > that topic would not threaten his family so much as it would threaten his career with what data or experience do have to make this assertion?
          • yarg 9y ago
            Probably the same amount not data and experience that I have to express the contrary.
        • yarg 9y ago
          I have little doubt that all this man owns could and would be taken away if he took any stance against the regime. He would either end up dead or in a hole. There's nothing in an honest answer to the question he was asked by which could serve Beijing either from a political or a business perspective. Likewise a propaganda based answer would have gotten him nowhere in any thinking society. I do not know what sort of punishment could or would result for him from any fallout from a radio interview the in western media. That sheepish 'no' however, made me think not of some machiavellian monster, but of a scared little boy. I really do wonder, just what is he afraid of?
      • muro 9y ago
        "I was just following orders"
    • davidreiss 9y ago
      There won't be a snowden for china because china doesn't has pretenses for being "good" or "free" or a "beacon of humanity". China is open about their surveillance and they are open about their censorship. China's propaganda is rather up front about what it's about. Our propaganda lies/hides about what the state is doing. That's why it is shocking. > And people like Shen are complicit with their silence. How are they complicit? They are no more complicit than people who buy "made in china" goods or businesses who invest in china or tourists who flock to china.
      • lightbyte 9y ago
        >China is open about their surveillance and they are open about their censorship. You're commenting on a quote where they are explicitly not being open about what they do.
        • tskaiser 9y ago
          By commenting in the context given he would be in danger of being seen as criticizing China. It is not like it is a secret that they surveil and censor their populace, but you do not want to be perceived as being negative about it.
        • simonh 9y ago
          Clearly the Chinese authorities don't want to talk about it and done want anyone else talking about it, it is pretty much a state secret. But on the other hand it's so pervasive, blatant and intrusive that most of what they do is quite evident. We occasionally also hear senior officials praising the effectiveness of astroturfing and censorship campaigns, or calling for more of them on certain topics. The specifics might be considered sensitive, but the basic principle of censorship, information manipulation and suppression of dissent is totally uncontroversial and explicit among the political elite. But bear in mind Shen isn't 'they'. He has no political role or cover. There's literally nothing he can say on the subject that couldn't get him in trouble and frankly he may not actually know all that much officially anyway.
    • LiweiZ 9y ago
      No one would care when that kind of emergence happened. People are used to only thinking of things that they can do and have positive consequence for themselves.
  • tskaiser 9y ago
    He really does say a lot by saying nothing.
  • BatFastard 9y ago
    He just refuses to say anything, they finally manage to drag out a tiny "no". We all know this has some dire implications for personal freedom in China.
• yttrium 9y ago
  That's an unbelievable 90s of audio - It's not even Shen not being able to formulate a response - he's literally choosing to be silent!!
  • FlashGit 9y ago
    Yeah, after they move on he has no problem answering, pretty much text book case of silence that was deafening.
• wu-ikkyu 9y ago
  Perhaps if the lady had rephrased her question and not called China "an authoritarian country" they might have been able to get a better response. Even if it's true it is insulting to prideful nationalists and insults shut down rapport