“China has replaced its internet regulator, Lu Wei, the hard-liner responsible for leading the government’s efforts to tighten control over domestic cyberspace and export the ruling Communist Party’s philosophy of web control,” Gerry Shih reports for Reuters.
“Lu wielded expansive powers as head of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs since 2014, dictating what 700 million Chinese internet users may view online and acting as gatekeeper for technology companies wishing to do business in China,” Shih reports. “His successor will be his deputy, former propaganda official Xu Lin, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.”
“The reshuffle likely means a new face will greet foreign executives like Apple’s Tim Cook and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella who have been dealing with thorny cybersecurity and trade issues on their visits to Beijing,” Shih reports. “Under Lu’s watch, China has been codifying a series of cybersecurity and national security laws that gives the government greater legal powers to control online content and speech.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: China’s quixotic quest to keep trying to stuff the genie back into the bottle continues… for now.
An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger. — Confucius
As we wrote back in May:
Business and political models that fly in the face of human nature are doomed to failure.
Apple is moving with human nature. Humans seek privacy. Privacy is a human right. Humans seek freedom of speech, thought, and expression. These, too, are human rights.
China’s government is fighting against the tide of human nature on these fronts. Apple is flowing with it; indeed, helping to propel it.
In the end, Apple’s ideas will win and China’s government’s will lose. Those who try to thwart human nature are doomed to failure.
SEE ALSO:
Apple to face more scrutiny as China cracks down on apps – June 29, 2016
China says Apple, app developers must track identities of users and developers – June 28, 2016
Apple’s battle with China offers a stark reminder of geopolitical risks – May 11, 2016
Apple’s Tim Cook to visit China for high-level government meetings later this month – May 6, 2016
Apple CEO Cook ‘pretty confident’ of soon resuming movie and book sales in China – May 3, 2016
Apple’s biggest China problem: iPhone’s strong encryption – May 2, 2016
The New Yorker: What Apple has to fear from China – April 30, 2016
Why Carl Icahn is wrong about Apple and China – April 29, 2016
Carl Icahn out of Apple over worries about China’s ‘dictatorship’ government – April 29, 2016
Apple stock falls as Carl Icahn dumps all of his shares – April 29, 2016
Carl Icahn dumps all of his Apple shares; stock drops – April 28, 2016
Apple reports earnings miss in Q216 – April 26, 2016
China could slam door on Apple, says top global risk expert – April 25, 2016
China’s increasing censorship hits Apple, but Apple might punch back – April 22, 2016
China shutters Apple’s online book and movie services – April 22, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook joins Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ board of directors – April 6, 2016
I don’t know about this [Lu]: “Last week he delivered a speech on the subject in Moscow, where he told an audience that “freedom is not a right, but a responsibility” and warned that unlimited freedom could spawn terrorism.”
Seems to me that limited freedom can spawn terrorism just as well but I see his point. Seems to me he is talking specifically about that terrorist nation that believes it has unlimited freedom to terrorize the world.
“In recent years China has pushed cybersecurity regulations aimed at limiting technology imported from the West, which Beijing officials say is necessary given Edward Snowden’s allegations of U.S. spying via “backdoors” inserted in exported U.S.-made hardware.”
… It’s just another excuse for Totalitarianism, which is the desperate fall back whenever a government system has FAILed. It’s the instant, inevitable result whenever a ‘communist’ government is attempted. Some elitist dicks always rush in to take the jewels while quelling the sheeple citizens with lies, aka PROPAGANDA.
Sound familiar, here in the USA?
Unfortunately yes Derek. I know you have been giving the hard time recently with the Mao Wow Watch (love the images by the way) and you are smart enough to realize that it’s not a democratic nor communistic thing, it’s a Totalitarian approach that is coming to a head.
I’ve been calling it “defending inferior morality with superior weaponry” as of late and that’s where there is a high potential of danger. Your country since the second 9/11 has been looking for a fight. So far you’ve done well in the Middle East, but rattle the sabers too much China’s way and it’s going to get ugly, really really ugly.
The model I worked on years ago had that as a breaking point, war between your country and China just might be a very nasty thing. Might also be what you need to get your country back on track.
We’ll see.
Always a pleasure sir.
defending inferior morality with superior weaponry
Might makes right caveman stuff.
Years back, I pointed out to my brother (Captain in the Navy at the time) that China was the #1 problem for the USA. He verified that this fact was well known. Shortly thereafter China started pretending it owned everything remotely near its shores, taking over, bickering over and creating islands. I see that sort of ‘imperialism’ continuing until they’ve created an overall Asian ’empire’. I seriously don’t see them being stopped. But I do insist upon pointing out where they got the money and how ridiculous it is to feed their government with fawning respect, well UNdeserved. I also like supporting those in China who comprehend the nonsense and are determined to overcome it and be insistently creative. Etc. IOW I enjoy being an annoying PITA to China supporters of all kinds.
And of course I connect China to what’s going on in the USA these days whereby we’re being ‘China-ified’ over here with #MyStupidGovernment emulating the totalitarian BS of China.
It’s a deep subject, but there are a few blether points off the top of my head. I’d much rather speak up and speak out, if only for my own sense of self-respect, rather than do the usual sit-on-my-ass sheeple behavior while all these crimes are attempted.
We really should compare notes about what’s going on in the UK vs USA.
Great insight there Derek and you are right, China is/going to be a problem for your country. The great wall of China had the benefit of keeping the Chinese within the country but now they are expanding out from beyond the wall.
Of course the way your country is acting these days it can’t stay away from a fight. Not too much of an issue when you are dealing with other less organized and less funded entities like the ones your nation has been fighting with so far. China on the other hand is well organized, well funded and well armed. It will be a “picking on someone your own size” situation and that’s bound to leave a few more serious injuries than say a couple of buildings.
The Brexit, well that’s just another example of a group that does not want to be a team player on the new global landscape. It is to be expected. It’s not surprising to hear that the vote to leave comes mostly from the older group of people while the younger folks voted to stay. Mind you Scotland voted overall to stay so that puts another slant into the mix.
The UK does not mind being part of a team as long as it’s the leader, i.e. the Commonwealth. The UK has asked for a lot of concessions from the EU to maintain membership and even that is not enough.
Again it should be a wake up call, there are millions of refugees coming out of Syria now, not a few hundred or a few thousands but millions. That’s hard to deal with and different countries will deal with it differently but it still points to the overpopulation issue facing the planet.
Ironically since Brexit, there has been a spike in immigration inquiries from the UK to countries like Ireland, Canada and Australia, a similar spike in immigration inquiries from the US into Canada.
That’s not much of a selection, and if this keeps up, soon there won’t be anywhere to migrate. Sorry the planet is full.
Food for thought. Have a great weekend.
Wow, quite a list of ongoing problems all over the place. Here goes as short a list as I can type:
1) My usual mantra: Mankind’s worst enemy is his own ability to believe deceptive ‘truth’ to be absolutely true. It’s a main motivator for our killing other members of our species. We have a dire problem perceiving reality, as a whole.
2) My usual story: I have friends in Denmark who’ve kept me up-to-date with their experiences with Muslim refugees & immigrants. Years back they welcomed them with open arms and incredible charity. Now they would like to send them back and have made it clear they will accept no more. The best of liberal countries is turning protectionist and I entirely understand why. No surprise at all that the UK wants the same.
3) I’ve been pointing out OVERPOPULATION as the core source of MOST modern human problems since I was a kid in the early 1970s. The predictive graphs are heart-stopping. People respond with either utter silence, or they foist a ridiculous meme like ‘Humans will stop population grown at 9 billion people’. Right. Meanwhile, the human population on miracle planet Earth, our only home, is growing EXPONENTIALLY. There is NO sign of leveling off, only acceleration.
4) I laugh at ‘Climate Change’ (aka Greenhouse Effect) deniers. Too late! We’ve already acidified the oceans, in part thanks to increased CO2 levels, to the point where we’re killing off all the coral reefs. People have no idea how PROFOUND that is. It means it’s already too late to fix our pollution problem. And yeah folks, burning up carbon fuels means CO2 pollution and its consequences.
All of the above seriously pisses me off because I’m what I call a ‘positive anarchist’. I believe in maximum choice with maximum responsibility for our choices. If only we were responsible about the choices we make on our miracle planet! It’s THE planet we know of with life and we have everything we require to be a brilliant, creative animal. But instead we’re just spoiled juveniles, certainly in the First World, who don’t care that we’ve filled our home with our own excrement. There’s a deadly price for that ridiculous irresponsibility. Grow up apes.
Back to more creative things…
Did the model you were working on make it into Maryland? Bethesda’s Fallout videogame series is based on the aftermath of a nuclear war between China and the U.S. The game pivots on moral choices the player must make in a ruined world dominated by cutthroats and opportunists.
Post-apocalyptic fiction is hugely popular these days but it’s unsettling to realise that it may be our culture’s way of preparing us for the real thing.
Hey Herself, no, the model is not one based on post-apocalyptic fiction. You say that post-apocalyptic fiction is hugely popular these days but I’d be willing to be that it’s mostly depressing cynical. What about the positive “the world is a better place, heck it’s after an apocalypse” post-apocalyptic fiction. Can you name me one such work?
I can, the Chrysalids by John Wyndham, lovely book with a very optimistic humanity is evolving ending. Written way back in 1955, a well recognized work of fiction.
Yet no movie have been made of it.
No, the post-apocalyptic fiction is not your culture’s way of preparing you for the real thing, it’s your culture’s way of keeping power and control over you. These are dark times, use the light sparingly and bide your time.
Have a great weekend, a pleasure as always.
I get the feeling you and I talk past each other, because we don’t understand the points each of us is trying to make. Here is my naïve point of view. Optimism is for babies. We are staring into the future and see a wasteland.
Over many generations our countrymen all have experienced real, historical apocalypses. The tales of suffering echo down the corridors of time! And now again Dread is in the air. Today the Military establishment and the Entertainment establishment have both seized on the problem of surviving the NEXT apocalypse. It’s too easy to insinuate that consumer products like literature, movies, or conspiracy blogs are trivial and unimportant confections compared with the high-cost simulations people like you work on to provide decision trees to our illustrious leaders, who claim to have our best interests in mind but maintain their own secret shelters. When the O-ring blows or the grid goes down or the plague spreads, when the mushroom cloud appears over a major metropolis — it’s what we individuals have learnt about survival through our own manufactured folklore that will sustain us, no thanks to anything from scientists who sold out to the politicians.
Translation-
Same Shit, Different Player.
What a lousy country:
His successor will be his deputy, former propaganda official Xu Lin
Great, a former PROPAGANDA official in charge of China’s Internet. This is a joke, right? Oh, CHINA is the joke. I get it.
BIG MAO IS WATCHING
help jailbreak 8.4
please!!! is cydia available for iphone 6s with ios 9.2