Free Republic

The past few weeks have revealed much about the great paradox that is China. It is a nation that wants a capitalist lifestyle with centralised totalitarian rule. The past weeks have also revealed a lot about the Western World's biggest IT companies, Namely, they'll do just about anything to crack the giant fortune cookie market. Some will give away their software, others will allow their search results to be censored and others may even be prepared to help the Chinese Government track down its dissidents. The more principled ones among us may say: "IT companies beware of the Chinese trap."...

FLASH: Heckler disrupts Chinese President Hu's speech on south lawn at White House: 'President Bush, stop him from killing'... one cameraman put a hand on her shoulder as she shouted... seemed to be trying to quiet her down... 'Stop persecuting the Falun Gong,' she yelled... She also shouted in Chinese, 'President Hu, your days are numbered'... woman is taken away by uniformed secret service officers... right after Bush urged Hu to allow Chinese to 'speak freely'...

WASHINGTON (AP) President Bush has expressed regret to China's president for a protester at the White House welcoming ceremony.

President Hu Jintao showed particular interest in Microsoft's "Home of the Future", as befits the leader of the country most likely to dominate the 21st century."Bill Gates is a friend of China and I'm a friend of Microsoft," Mr Hu announced at the end of his visit to its showcase for experimental technology. "Also, I am dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft every day," he added. "Thank you, it's a fantastic relationship," his tour guide, the world's richest man, replied. "And if you ever need advice on how to use Windows, I'll be glad to help." The site...

Chinese President to Visit Gates Home By Nate Mook, BetaNews April 17, 2006, 12:19 PM China's President Hu Jintao will be making a historic trip to the United States this week, but his host will not be U.S. President George Bush. Rather, Hu is traveling to Seattle, Washington to have dinner with Bill Gates in the Microsoft chairman's 66,000 square-foot house that overlooks Lake Washington. President Hu will join a group of 100 dinner guests, including Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire and Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz. A key topic for the evening will be China's efforts to crackdown on software...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The first lavish dinner of China President Hu Jintao's historic visit to the United States next week will be in a big, secure house in Washington where the host is one of the world's most powerful men. The White House? No. It won't be in Washington D.C., but Seattle, Washington, and the April 18 dinner will be held at the $100 million lakeside mansion of Microsoft Corp. founder and the world's richest man, Bill Gates. The approximately 100-person guest list is a who's who of the U.S. Pacific Northwest power elite, including Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz...