LinuxInsider: Linux Revolution: Asian Countries Push Open Source

“Asia is emerging as a key battleground for the open-source
movement. The Japan-China-Korea (JCK) partnership, announced last
month in Osaka, is the latest in a string of initiatives to promote
Linux. Two weeks earlier, Singapore hosted the second annual Asia
Open Source Symposium, where 20 Asian countries discussed closer
collaboration in standardization, localization and interoperability
of Linux software.

“Announcements of major Linux initiatives have become a daily
occurrence in Asia this year. Governments in the region see
open-source software as a fast track to the development of a
domestic software industry, one that is not beholden to foreign
licenses.

“The pacesetter seems to be China, which looks set to become the
Middle Kingdom of the Linux revolution. China embraced Linux in
1998 and now has a thriving Linux industry. Nearly all major
Western IT players–among them HP, Intel, Sun, Oracle and IBM–have
teamed up with Chinese partners to get a slice of the growing Linux
pie…”

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