full of keyboard hero
YC China and Qi Lu
331–340 of 360 posts
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#332I assume that most of the people that commented on this article live in the U.S. The majority of the world sees the U.S. as the world's biggest threat to world peace, yet I don't see anybody on Hacker News claiming companies shouldn't do business with the U.S. Since the war in Iraq, can we think of something that the Chinese government has done that is worse? I disagree strongly with the notion that the Chinese gover…
> can we think of something that the Chinese government has done that is worse?
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#333The political concerns are real. It's too cynical to say that YC just cares about money, though. There would be better ways to create an incubator than to do it like this, if that were the case. One obvious question that hasn't been raised is: "Why not base it in Taiwan?" It's still "China" (for some definition of China), you can still get access to the talent that you want (you just have to try a little harder), and…
Taiwan is not "China" for reasonable and informed definitions of China. Independent of that, to the best of my understanding: (1) The talent pools in Taiwan and China are different (2) The markets in Taiwan and China are very different Right now the Chinese market is more important than the Chinese talent pool, but both are important. Basing an accelerator in Taiwan would be good for Taiwan, but it would not meaningf…
The PRC says that Formosa (i.e Taiwan) is part of China. That's why I added the caveat (for some definition of China). There are political definitions, cultural definitions, linguistic/anthropological definitions. So, my statement still stands that Taiwan is a kind of China, depending on how you understand that word.
It's clear that you're speaking from a political perspective, but even that gets a bit grey.
Since you don't live in China, you should know that there are hundreds of different versions of China within China itself. You could live in Shanghai and never know the reality of the China that the people of Xinjiang experience. So I would say to your points that:
1) The markets all over China are very different. 2) The talent pools all over China are very different.
If YC wants to call it YC Shangjing, (because they're primarily targeting those two markets), that would be fair. But considering China just to be Shanghai and Beijing is a bit myopic, which is why I suggested Taiwan in the first place.
Disclosure: I am a Chinese-American currently living in Northwest China, which is VERY different than Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Linxia, Shenyang, etc. all of which I've visited.
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#334The political concerns are real. It's too cynical to say that YC just cares about money, though. There would be better ways to create an incubator than to do it like this, if that were the case. One obvious question that hasn't been raised is: "Why not base it in Taiwan?" It's still "China" (for some definition of China), you can still get access to the talent that you want (you just have to try a little harder), and…
> "Why not base it in Taiwan?" It's still "China" (for some definition of China), you can still get access to the talent that you want (you just have to try a little harder), and you could still get access to the market you're targeting. Native Chinese here. I don't think this is the case. It's not even close to ideal to base in Taiwan given the political environment between the straits nowadays. The policies are ver…
I agree with you. But I'm not suggesting that people develop business based on the location of YCombinator. YCombinator accepts applicants from all over the world who want to focus on specific issues that their home markets exhibit. Just the other day someone was promoting FinTech for South America.
In my OP I said it would be work. It would be more of a challenge for Mainland Chinese applicants to launch their businesses while not being in the Mainland, but if that was their biggest problem then they're prepped for success!
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#335The political concerns are real. It's too cynical to say that YC just cares about money, though. There would be better ways to create an incubator than to do it like this, if that were the case. One obvious question that hasn't been raised is: "Why not base it in Taiwan?" It's still "China" (for some definition of China), you can still get access to the talent that you want (you just have to try a little harder), and…
> and you could still get access to the market you're targeting. This is not true. Taiwanese investment in China is considered 'external'. And Taiwan's talent reserve is no way to be considered as on par against mainland China. But that is not the point either, I think YC just wants an entity in China, not for the talents, but for the market. Under the risk of being downvoted, I have to say China has created some wor…
This assumes that your talent pool is only local. If Chinese (i.e. 大陆) parents would be willing to send their kids all over the world for a university education, do you think it would be a big deal that a Shanghai team moved to Taiwan?
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. Why cannot YC improve invocation by focusing on those areas?! If your dad said harsh words to you, are you going to claim that you are made inferior to normal citizen or you are working with a repressive parent?
When you help a country get richer and that country has a history of human right violations you are aiding the tyrants running the country even if you declare yourself "neutral to politics" and even if you have the best of intentions.
Isn't China's human rights situation got vastly improved with its improved economy?
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. Why cannot YC improve invocation by focusing on those areas?! If your dad said harsh words to you, are you going to claim that you are made inferior to normal citizen or you are working with a repressive parent?
Every successful business deal done in concert with a given dictator entrenches that dictator's power. Some other commenter demonstrated the technique elsewhere in this discussion: "but the dictators have lifted so many Chinese people out of poverty!" Through this deal, YC is taking an active position in support of the Chinese dictatorship and is helping them increase their grip on power.
Sure, that's a good point.
But as I said, there is reasonable motivation to try to help the people genuinely. At least let them have better internet services; not the shitty ones from BAT...
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. Why cannot YC improve invocation by focusing on those areas?! If your dad said harsh words to you, are you going to claim that you are made inferior to normal citizen or you are working with a repressive parent?
> There are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. You may believe that but the communists do not.
The question is how non-communists think.
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
When you help a country get richer and that country has a history of human right violations you are aiding the tyrants running the country even if you declare yourself "neutral to politics" and even if you have the best of intentions.
Isn't China's human rights situation got vastly improved with its improved economy?
No, it hasn't: "One Million Muslim Uighurs Have Been Detained by China, the U.N. Says. Where’s the Global Outrage?" https://theintercept.com/2018/08/13/china-muslims-uighur-det...
Re: YC China and Qi Lu
#340Earlier quoted context omitted.
> When you import goods from China, you import repression can you please tell us where the goods in your home were manufactured? why not start with the ones with the glowing white apple on them? if you won't change, why should anyone else?
I have. I own very little Apple hardware and only because I am a software dev. I certainly buy many things from China because it is hard to never get anything from China, but often you do have a choice. I was at Target, for instance, and I bought a Samsung branded microwave oven from Malaysia which has a 44/100 score from Freedom House as opposed to China which has a 14/100 score. I have also gotten into fixing old t…
It probably should be noted a Malaysian Samsung factory probably relies heavily on a supply chain that links to China at many points...