Raise the Red Flag Linux

Kick and scream all you want, lovers of
free peoples and free software, but the Chinese
really like their Linux.So much that China has allegedly banned the use of Windows
2000 in its government offices in deference to their own Linux
distribution, Red Flag Linux, according to a story from the
South
China Morning Post. In a later story from Reuters, Chinese
officials denied that Windows had been "banned" per se, although
the story did note several points of contention between China and
Microsoft, ranging from accusations of computer piracy to
counter-accusations of monopolism and economic imperialism.The story about China, Red Flag Linux and Microsoft
originally appeared in Wednesday's edition of the
Yangcheng Evening News. The report quoted an
unnamed Ministry of Information official, who claimed that the
Chinese government was actively encouraging computer users to buy
domestic software, in particular Red Flag Linux, a distribution of
Linux being developed by Chinese programmers. Red Flag Linux is
reportedly geared toward personal computers and will be available
in mid-2000.Previous reports about
Linux and China have suggested an increasing interest among many
government officials for the advantages an open-source operating
system would provide. And, as is the case here in the United
States, the interest in Linux is both ideological and practical.
Ideologically, the Chinese are committed to developing computing
technology that is as independent of Western corporate control as
possible. While Windows is still the predominant PC operating
system in China, Linux has made significant
inroads in the East,
particularly in the server market and among institutions and
government ministries.Other reasons for Chinese interest are equally familiar.
Linux is inexpensive, highly scalable, and--as a non-proprietary
operating system--something the Chinese will be able to modify and
tailor to their specific preferences and needs. The ability to "get
under the hood" also paves the way for major educational
opportunities for thousands of young Chinese interested in computer
programming and software development.Chinese officials also pointed to fears of security problems
in Windows 98 and Windows 2000 as additional reasons why other
operating systems, such as Linux, were being considered. Topmost
among their concerns was the
coding
flaw in earlier versions of Windows 98 that permitted
Microsoft to gather information about individual users without
their knowledge. Reportedly, the coding flaw has been
repaired.One overview on Linux in China, from the perspective of a
Chinese graduate student, is available at
Slashdot.

email: david@ssc.com