As Chris Nolan says, "I say it here, you hear it there"...

Chris Nolan's take on US based companies business practices when dealing with the Chinese government is pretty close to mine. That's not huge news... Although I don't agree with everything she says, I do agree with the points she makes when common sense is applied, as in this case. The Chinese government is oppressive. Everyone (there and here) knows that. Giant conglomorates like MS and other huge corps aren't going to change that simply because the Chinese government can tell them to take a flying leap and simply do the job themselves. Since all corps in China are government owned in some way or another getting around the government's censorship will require something which they'll consider illegal. I'm sure there are execs for these huge corps over there who wouldn't care to sit around in a prison cell waiting for the negotiation for their release, and who would blame them. The price of doing business with a government instead of just another set of corps is quite different than most people are willing to understand. Criticizing a company for using as free a marketplace as they choose is a waste of media time (imho). I do believe these human rights activist orgs are doing something just and ultimately worthwhile, but I think the pot shots they take at huge companies are more divisive than constructive; especially when they know it's not going to change anything.