Global Voices' Rebecca MacKinnon posts about MSN Spaces taking down a Chinese blogger who is probably too politically annoying for Chinese authorities, and Scoble chimes in on the wrongness of Microsoft's actions.
I saw MacKinnon speak at PopTech in October, where she described her experiences in China as a CNN reporter for 10 years. She described the horrific process that China is using to bake in censorship of issues that genuinely concern those in power, while creating the illusion of loosening up totalitarian controls by allowing freer discussions on issues like sex.
Microsoft is not alone in playing paddy cakes with the Chinese authorities. Yahoo and Google are right up there with them, and if I were better informed, I could probably list a long parade of Western-based companies.
This s not a simple issue. I hate, just hate, that the new Chinese regime is slowly twisting a tourniquet on what appeared to be new freedom. Simultaneously, I do not think the world, or the Chinese people are better served by refusing to do businesses with China, and in so doing, are compelled to play by unfair rules.
But there does come a point where the price of doing business becomes too high, and Western cooperation does the Chinese population more harm than good.
