Snip from Cult of the Dead Cow's postmortem analysis of today's Capitol Hill hearings on the ethical responsibilities of US tech firms in China. Most notably, the cDc hackers coin a new term for Google, Microsoft, Cisco, and Yahoo: The Gang of Four.
China needs to learn that it is not a special case, and that it doesn't always get special treatment. Public hectoring isn't the way to go. Quiet, firm, consistent, and respectful criticism of Chinese political policies is what we expect of our leaders. The boundaries have to be set, which of course should be lots of fun because they've already been trampled on. But maybe, just maybe, some political leader, or leaders, will have the sack to take a stand. One can only hope.
In the meantime, we expect a lot of pious arm waving and finger pointing at the Gang of Four. It wouldn't be right otherwise. But at the very least, we expect the press to look into this issue more closely. Freedoms are eroding faster than the ozone layer. The press will be the first to melt if this heats up any further.
