So, for weeks now, China has been screwing with Gmail accounts in the country

[HEyHEY]

My gmail char cuts in and out, google takes a long time to load, sometimes doesn't load, and all of this changes every ten minutes.

There's a few theories here in the expat community;

A: Fear due to the jasimine revolution
B: CPPCC and NPC conferences the other week
C: Protectionism If foreign emails don't work, we'll just have to use Chinese ones, won't we! (Don't laugh that's the REAL reason why youtube and facebook are blocked)

Since I arrived here a few months after the olympics internet restrictions have become worse and worse. People who have been here longer than me agree it's the worst it's been in five years now. Next thing, they'll start blocking the BBC and CNN again.

This is why I don't worry about China the way many do. I think, once the west realizes they are not opening up and just talking jibba jabber, business will slowly get sick of their shit and pull out. I hope so anyway.

But yeah, this is the shit we're dealing with now.

[JVS]

1. I think you're highly over-estimating business' interest in an open society.

[HEyHEY]

2. I don't think they'll leave for moral reasons

I think they'll leave because China clearly makes it a headache to do business here. In fact, there's a DUer I met last year when his work sent him here (Will keep his name hidden) who's company pulled out shortly after because of Chinese restrictions on foreign companies and discriminatory laws regarding them.

[JVS]

4. As long as labor is cheap, people will do business there.

What I'd expect to see is the growth of a tier of chinese office workers who you can pay $10,000 a year to and who will feel like that's a fortune. Instead of a Western company paying one person from their own country $50,000 a year to go to China and be pissed off about what a pain in the ass doing business is, the 5 local people will take care of both the work and the pain in the ass.

[HEyHEY]

5. But Chinese inflation is getting pretty bad

I have a feeling before we get to that point most business will have moved on to other poor nations for labour. At the same time, India will take the office lead as their managerial skills and system are more established and bring less bullshit.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Business loves rightless labor that works for what wouldn't even be a starvation wage in the west

[KT2000]

6. What city are you in?

And what kind of news are you getting there about Japan? Would you say it is informative - as much as possible as it does get confusing.

[HEyHEY]

7. Beijing

Well, I read the BBC and such. Chinese media generally just re-print reuters and such and scan it for anything making china look bad, then put it up.

[KT2000]

8. Interesting

thank you...
stay safe yourself.