China blocks foreign software

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> CNET News.com
> China blocks foreign software
> By CNETAsia Staff
> August 18, 2003, 8:56 AM PT
>
> A new policy from China's governing body states that all government 
> ministries must buy only locally produced software at the next upgrade cycle.
> The State Council's move, aimed at breaking the dominance of Microsoft on 
> desktop computers, will eliminate Microsoft's Windows operating system and 
> Office productivity suite from hundreds of thousands of Chinese government 
> computers over the next few years.
>
> Gao Zhigang, an official with the Procurement Center of the State Council, 
> told reporters that the new policy will be in place by year's end.
>
>
> At a special congress held to encourage ministries to upgrade to WPS 
> Office 2003, a China-made office productivity suite, Gao said the 
> government will purchase only hardware preinstalled with domestic 
> operating systems and applications. Those seeking exceptions will need to 
> submit a special request.
>
> The new policy is expected to increase the number of government officials 
> who use domestic office software, from one-third to 100 percent, 
> eventually. Gao said the new policy is meant to support the local software 
> industry and protect the state's information security.
>
> Microsoft had been on a charm offensive, including granting the government 
> inspection rights over Windows source code and creating a new CEO position 
> for greater China.
>
> The new policy will continue until at least until 2010. The protections 
> are standard and are not meant to discriminate against other countries, 
> the council stated. China is a member of the World Trade Organization, and 
> it is unclear if the new ban contravenes the body's charters.
>
> "The domestic software industry is very insulated. There is poor 
> interaction and partnership with user companies. The increased use of 
> domestic software will make the China software industry more open," said 
> Fei Lin, an official with the State Assets Supervision and Administration 
> Commission.
>
> The ban comes as part of China's efforts to challenge Western technology. 
> Chinese software company Kingsoft used to have 90 percent of the market 
> with its Chinese word processing tool, but has lost nearly all market 
> share to Microsoft Word since the early 1990s.
>
> In addition to commercial reasons for protecting local software, there are 
> security issues. China is placing official support behind the Red Flag 
> Linux operating system, which they trust, because the open-source code 
> allows officials to see that there are no data spyholes installed by 
> foreign powers.
>
> Zhang Xiaonan of ZDNet China contributed to this report.
> *******************************

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