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I have to say Gates can't distinguish very well between an oppressive government that monitors and censors the Internet in that country or what we have here in the United States.

He knows exactly what China does to its people, how it's setup, etc. If he were to actually criticize the Chinese government, Microsoft would find itself shut out of potentially the largest market in the world.

Bill Gates doesn't answer to you or I or the United States when it comes to these matters, he answers to the stockholders of Microsoft. Microsoft has been making overtures to the Chinese government for years (they've given millions to various groups/organizations inside of China). If your a MS shareholder, you've got to be happpy as hell that he's doing whatever he can to get Microsoft entrenched in the Chinese market.

Don't get me wrong - I don't care for his speech or what MS has done in regards to China, but this is hardly surprising in this day and age. I can happily say my machines at home are MS free. I'll take the hippies of Apple (where at least I know there is a good chance most of their products are coded in the US), or the FreeBSD types.

Yes but all of these companies that do business in China should do so warily. The Chinese are very good at copying then leaving a company holding the bag not to mention the fact that they are notorious about looking the other way on International Copyright law.

If your a MS shareholder, you've got to be happpy as hell that he's doing whatever he can to get Microsoft entrenched in the Chinese market.

When the Chinese improve their human rights record, then I'll be happy. Until then, I'd rather take a lower dividend in exchange for being able to sleep at night.