I've heard that companies like NavTeq have had to work with a Chinese-owned partner to collect and market their data in China. I don't think the laws would prevent Chinese citizens from collecting/geocaching data themselves? It would be interesting to find out if there was a OpenStreetMap initiative in China.
FP -----Original Message----- My understanding of the Chinese situation is that it covers data collection and publishing by non-Chinese. It would seem to prohibit activities such as Green Maps unless done by Chinese with permits. There are already several Chinese Green Maps here - http:// www.greenmap.com/grmaps/asia.html There seems to have been a similar law as the ones mentioned in Mike's original post, dating back to 2002. This makes for some interesting reading - http://english.gov.cn/laws/2005-10/09/ content_75314.htm It starts out quite benignly, and even goes so far as to say surveying and mapping are essential activities and well done tasks are to be rewarded. It even basically says that taxpayer funded data should be made available gratis. Then it gets a bit darker when you get to the penalties for various wrongdoings (one of which is to use a non-Chinese coordinate system). Allan _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking
