Edward Fang <edfang@visi.net> wrote: On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, Vadim Antonov wrote: :Their "partnership" with censors of a communist regime :is repugnant. Using the modern technology to build a :giant brainwashing machine is very scary.

How so ? Communications is actually loosening communism as it was in China.

Yes.

Fax machines have helped, and anything that facilitates the exchange of ideas will only make China bend closer to a 'democracy standard'.

This network facilitates more propaganda; not the "exchange of ideas". A Chineze citizen would have to be a naive idiot, or a hard-core dissident not minding some time in a jail, to post anything subversive over a state network.

If you see how China has changed from 10 years ago to now (some form of capitalism), you will see that they cannot and will not run the country as communism was once run.

Capitalism != freedom of spech. Look at what's going on in Singapore.

I don't think this has anything to do with commercialism. Are you implying that Cisco and/or other US firms would turn this deal down (and or not pursue it?).

They didn't do anything like that, ok?

Should we also boycott Coke, McDonalds, KFC, McDonald Douglas, etc ? Since they all profit from the people of a 'communist' country that does not endorse the same personal freedoms that we do.

They do not profit by creating means for state brainwashing and censorship. The trade and communications with _people_ of communist countries is unquestionable good. Helping the communist state to spread their propaganda is amoral. Please make a difference between a person eating a burger and a state agency running the politically censored network. --vadim