>I've been in China for almost 2 years now, and while I am no expert on >the country, I have a good idea of how things work here. The reason >I'm pretty sure Google has high level contacts in the Chinese gov't is >because I'm pretty sure EVERY major multi-national operating in China >has a relationship with the gov't.
Having a relationship with the Chinese govt does not imply that one can always get what one wants from the Chinese govt. On Mar 18, 6:05 pm, John C <johnmcourt...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I know Google must have relationships with high level officials in the > > > Chinese gov't and could use influence to make sure GAE never gets > > > blocked. > > > Why do you think that is true? > > I've been in China for almost 2 years now, and while I am no expert on > the country, I have a good idea of how things work here. The reason > I'm pretty sure Google has high level contacts in the Chinese gov't is > because I'm pretty sure EVERY major multi-national operating in China > has a relationship with the gov't. Foreigners can't just show up over > here and set up shop. There is a mind numbing bureacracy that > controls everything and the way to make things happen isn't > necessarily through direct bribery, but through personal relationships > with local officials. Expensive dinners and nights singing kareoke > are what makes world work. There is no doubt Google as well as every > other company making big bets on China frequently interact Chinese > officials. I'm sure this is especially true in the realm of the GFW > (Great Firewall), where Google must agree to play by the local rules > or get shut off altogether. Even the contents of this post, if were > in Chinese, would be grounds for blocking. The only problem is that > the people deciding what gets blocked have absolutely no concern for a > group of coders working on their own personal projects. As crazy as > it may seem, the best way for those of in China to be able to develop > for GAE without getting blocked is most likely someone from Google > going out for a night of drinking and kareoke with someone that > controls what gets blocked. > > >> I've never once had problems getting on Baidu.com, so there > > must be a way to make sure it won't be blocked. > > > > > Baidu.com is a Chinese company, headquartered in China. Why would you > > think that Baidu's relationship with the Chinese government has > > anything to do with Google's relationship? > > Because Baidu and Google are the #1 and #2 (in that order) most > popular search engines in China. They both have a relationship with > the gov't, and it seems that Baidu's is stronger because they never > get blocked. Now, I also know that the gov't will usually support > local companies against foreign compitition. Also, since Baidu is > Chinese they are most likely more self policiing when it come to > objectionable content, and they certainly don't have any kind "don't > be evil" clauses in their mission statement. For these reasons Baidu > has a natural advantage in not getting blocked. But seeing that > Google is a major player in Chinese internet search business, it seems > like they would be doing more to make sure their site, including GAE, > is 100% usable, all the time, no questions asked. If it doesn't have > that, then I can't base a business aimed at the Chinese on GAE, which > I find incredibly dissappointing, because so far GAE looks really > cool. > > On Mar 19, 7:59 am, Andy Freeman <ana...@earthlink.net> wrote: > > > > > > > On Mar 18, 4:26 am, John C <johnmcourt...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > GAE Team: > > > > I am a developer considering using AppEngine for a new web based > > > business aimed at the Chinese market. I've recently spent a lot of > > > time getting up to speed on Python and learning absolutely everything > > > about AppEngine so can I dive head first into building my app, which I > > > expect to take several months. GAE seems pretty awesome and I can't > > > wait to get going. > > > > However in the last few days access in Guangzhou, China (where I > > > live) has been spotty, I assume because the gov't is for whatever > > > reason is blocking the GAE IP addresses. Should my app become popular > > > I was hoping to turn it into my primary source of income. Given the > > > problems recently, it seems like I might not be able to use GAE. If > > > have a lot of users who depend on my site to do mission critical > > > business (which is what cloud computing is all about!), and then one > > > day I wake up to find GAE is arbitrarily blocked, that would be > > > disastrous. > > > > I know Google must have relationships with high level officials in the > > > Chinese gov't and could use influence to make sure GAE never gets > > > blocked. I've never once had problems getting on Baidu.com, so there > > > must be a way to make sure it won't be blocked. I'm from America and > > > I know we never think about these kind of issues, but over here its a > > > complete reality, and now for me its turned into a business > > > decision. > > > > What gaurantee do I have that GAE won't be blocked in the future? > > > Should I use it to build a web based business? > > > > Thanks!- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google App Engine" group. To post to this group, send email to google-appengine@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to google-appengine+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-appengine?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
