“The next stage in world domination, the conquest of the oldest
continuous culture on the face of the planet (currently being run
by the Red Dynasty), seems to be well at hand. Rumours that China
will adopt Linux as its primary operating system in order to free
itself ideologically from dependence on an American company are
abounding. While I would stress that there is nothing official
quite yet — this is something that should really only be believed
when it is implemented — it’s a compelling idea, and one that
could have enormous implications for both China and the development
of free software….”
“Assume China does adopt free software on a large scale. The
libertarian ideals that have pervaded free software development
since the very beginning is not something that can be trivially
adopted on a large scale by a culture that has lived under a
vicious dictatorship for so long. The adoption on a large scale of
free software could end up one of the most revolutionary things
that the Red Dynasty has ever had to deal with.”
“A generation of computer users immersed in the culture of free
software and the ideas of the international software development
communities could be the greatest coup for the liberation of China
in years — and it will be a very long-term thing. In the short
run, China will benefit from high-quality software for free, but at
the same time they will be fostering the seeds of a development
community with an open tradition. This community will also, over
time, hold the technological reins of a country increasingly
dependent on it holding more and more political power. The
political power that technically educated people hold in the rest
of the world is only starting to take hold and flourish. Over
time, the adoption of Linux in China could have far-reaching
consequences, as far-reaching as it is starting to have in North
America.“