Free speech...mmm.
I've just started Jung Chang's biography of 'Chairman' Mao. After 5 decades under the rule of him and his henchman, I should think the Chinese could use all the free speech they get.
On the other hand, you've got to ask yourself whether Microsoft going along with China's current rules might not be better than refusing altogether. After all, don't you imagine that half a billion potential bloggers aren't going to find a million and one ways of circumventing the rules? The impetus for freedom of speech increases as the media available proliferates. For example, Tiananmen (good grief! can't remember how it's spelled!) Square might be a banned phrase so they can try TMNSQ or nemnanaiT, dum de dum de dum. Trying to keep a lid on it is going to be nightmare for the Chinese authorities.
Not that I imagine Microsoft thinks like that. For them it's probably a simple commercial calculation. We're there = $$$; we're out = 000
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