Page 1 of 2

Open Source activist imprisoned in China

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:13 pm
by Nik
A Chinese representative of the Linux Professionel Institute has been imprisoned after demonstarting for Open Source Software on a show where Bill Gates was present, he hasn't been senn since then, here is the chinese website about it (haven't found a Enlish Version yet but a german News Site linked to this page) it also features a video of the incident:
http://news.zol.com.cn/54/545613.html

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:24 pm
by SFSxOI
A google translated version here:
http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... n%26sa%3DG

They write it like the reason he was arrested was for the open source thing. He was probably arrested for creating a public disturbance or something in reality.

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:41 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
I think the problem is that the China-KP wants to keep control over the internet accesses within chinese territory.
They may think, that OpenSourceSoftware will grow to an uncontrollable power.
...not that wrong... I think it will...

my recommendation to China is, rely on the values that made China big.

"culture" is much more powerful than "policy"...........................

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:45 pm
by WishMaster
Kaeru Gaman wrote:"culture" is much more powerful than "policy"...........................
Unfortunately, it's not.

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:26 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
it is... but only the loooooooooooong way....

if china remembers the old metaphors...

you can not sell lether, when the calf is just born...

you can plant a cherry tree,
but you need to wait to put a ladder at it for harvest...

the eastern philosophy bears a lot of truth....
the KP forgot it, but they could reinvent it if they only want.

every government forgot the old truth while following the call of money...
even western philosophy could do better.
not only redindian, african, aboriginy or whatever...
even old white culture knew that truth....

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:02 pm
by Rook Zimbabwe
My Wife (born in Sichuan Province) says that the real problem is Graft and The Old People.

Graft because people with high positions PAY politicians for favors (like making sure their software company is EXCLUSIVE rights...) and the "fees" that it costs to do business in China.

The Old People, because Mao said they would be taken care of... They still live and as long as they do they don't want the young people to get rich while they had to suffer with nothing...

Status Quo. It is all about the Status Quo... you don't got no status, you don't get to Quo!!!

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:10 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
It is all about the Status Quo... you don't got no status, you don't get to Quo!!!
nice sentence.
My Wife (born in Sichuan Province)
wow.. can she cook Sichuan style? ....I love it... :)
(in fact, it's hard to find a restaurant leaded by a Sichuan Chinese Cook,
but all of them, even those leaded by vietnam people,have Sichuan style in the menu)

I guess she's right.
hence, I still think that recalling the good philosophic traditions could help China today.

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:57 pm
by Rook Zimbabwe
wow.. can she cook Sichuan style? ....I love it...
(in fact, it's hard to find a restaurant leaded by a Sichuan Chinese Cook,
but all of them, even those leaded by vietnam people,have Sichuan style in the menu)
Sadly, not really... Her Grandmother did all the cooking when she was young. She did help, and she can slice vegtables like a madwoman! But her repitoire is limited. I cook a lot on the weeknights and all weekend. She cooks sometimes.

IRON CHEF TEXAS = ME!!! :wink:

Sad but true, in Houston most of the Chinese Restaurants (outside of Chinatown) are owned by Vietnamese or Korean... ALL sushi joints are owned by the Koreans! All Korean food places are owned by the Chinese... :roll:

It is diversity!

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:21 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
well, honestly, I can't imagine what style I can expect under the label "IRON CHEF TEXAS"......

for me, I did "fusion cooking" long before someone had the idea to give it that name.
I read about "fusion cooking" in the late 90ies, and I thougt: "yo fine, finally they gave it a name, I did it for years"

I started with "sweet&sour" when I was 14 (from an cookbook).
soon I found it interesting to apply the stir-fry technique on traditional mediterranian or german vegetables.

today I have a spiceboard with two or three dozen spices,
dried herbs of all kinds and anything you may want,
and a bunch of sauces in the fridge, from soya over worchester and blackbean up to HoiSin.....

I have different pans (steel and coated) and pots of all sizes, a fine Wok (black iron) .....

and I know how to handle the dozen different vegetables, flesh and fruits I can buy.

cooking is passion!

....sorry for offtopic.... :oops:

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:14 pm
by SkyManager
Why they need open source? All kinds of pirated software is everywhere in China and it costs very cheap

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:16 pm
by Brice Manuel
SkyManager wrote:Why they need open source? All kinds of pirated software is everywhere in China and it costs very cheap
touche`

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:20 pm
by Nik
Because OpenSource is not only free as in beer but also free as in freedom of speech. And because Open Source helps local companies to develop their own Solutions and enhance existing once, they can translate software which isn't tarnslated yet on their own and Open Source software can be studied to learn from it. Using MS Office only won't make you population much more educated but understanding, modifying, translating and enhancing Open Source Software definitely will.
It's about integrating oneself into an ever growing eco system instead of being a user only.

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:45 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
they fear to lose control.
our politics also fear that, that's why they ask for such ridiculous changes of law as they do.

> It's about integrating oneself into an ever growing eco system instead of being a user only.
and that is why I recommend returning onto the old values.
ZEN tells so much about how being a constructive part of a living bigger part.

I apply ZEN philosophy even when driving a car on a highway, and it works.
getting to your destination almost as far, but with much less stress.....

ZEN is a good answer to all our daily concernes, and it not that hard to apply.

it's just understanding, how the environment works, and applying that knowledge to your personal situation.

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:58 pm
by Nik
Well atleast out governments use Linux as well and the EU government is helping to fight the MS monopoly (while earning a good bit of money with that)

However things like our local politician Schäuble, who want's to abolish the legal principle of "not guilty until proven otherwise", only so he can enforce a police state and examine every detail of every persons private life, are a tough problem.
We, here in Germany, are probably the last to forget that no individual person or private terrorist organisation will ever be able to kill as many people as states like the Nazi Regime or Stalin did,
therefor it should always be the most important goal, to keep the state as controllable and law bound as possible or things like Nazi regime will happen again, people who think that policticians today are any better than they were 60 years ago are ridiculous it's just law and control of the people who keep politicians from running amok with their private fantasies, just as Schäuble does now,
only because he was wounded in a terrorist attack he tries to abolish every law keeping him from searching terrorists in peoples underwear.
In the same way as Hitler and Stalin killed millions of people out of personal hate.

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:13 pm
by Kaeru Gaman
good text but too hard to read.... chose better formatting, add CRs.....please... ;)