4 ms·
This has nothing, nothing, to do with trade or business. This isn't about supporting local Chinese businesses, or shafting American firms. This is all about J
by megaduck 17y ago
This has nothing, nothing, to do with trade or business. This isn't about supporting local Chinese businesses, or shafting American firms.
This is all about June 4th, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. Twitter has proven to be an effective "back channel" of communication that's outside of government control, so the fine folks in Beijing don't want it being used on the 4th.
This is all about internal Chinese politics, which trump business concerns every time.
- ajross 17y agoRight. And clearly the best way to avoid reminding people of the totalitarian state they live in is to step in and shut off their internets. The logic is just awful; but nonetheless you're absolutely right about the reasons.
- Retric 17y agoIt's a great pretence, but they have done the same thing in the past to help home grown competitors. Look at the history of Google vs Baidu and once the home grown web search become dominant they stoped messing with Google. Edit: I don't think it's 100% one or the other as they also like having the extra control that a local company provides. However, there are always reasons why countries want to help local industries the point of free trade is the idea that doing so always reduces economic efficiency.