Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 85 posts

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#41

Post by cco »

ilamont wrote: post #29

I am glad to see Taiwan getting this type of attention from a major tech company. Taiwan's economy really needs an economic lift, after decades of brain drain and economic dominance by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Japan. I am concerned, though, that this is Google's way of getting around issues of not being able to operate with a free hand in China, i.e. it will serve as a platform for devel…

I'm sure this is new office is for Google to move its "Chinese work" away from a campus where Western or other liberally minded employees would protest.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#42

Post by tanilama »

cco wrote: post #41
ilamont wrote: post #29

I am glad to see Taiwan getting this type of attention from a major tech company. Taiwan's economy really needs an economic lift, after decades of brain drain and economic dominance by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Japan. I am concerned, though, that this is Google's way of getting around issues of not being able to operate with a free hand in China, i.e. it will serve as a platform for devel…

I'm sure this is new office is for Google to move its "Chinese work" away from a campus where Western or other liberally minded employees would protest.

And that is good. If they don't want to do it, the jobs will go elsewhere

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#43

Post by jhallenworld »

komali2 wrote: post #3

>Last year, the project trained about 5,000 students in AI technology and 50,000 digital marketers. I feel like Taiwan represents a talent opportunity like no other. I dream of starting an engineering company there that is literally a clone of some upcoming business model, and doing nothing but capping the work week at 40 hours and guaranteeing 4 weeks vacation. I could snipe the best talent on hand in the country, w…

Remember when (USA) mall bookstores had technical books (or at least programming books)? In Taiwan they still do. I remember seeing Pro/E CAD manual in Chinese there among many others.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#44

Post by bobthepanda »

C1sc0cat wrote: post #17
umvi wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the end of the day, laws and authority are just a bunch of humans playing make believe with each other. It all comes down to enforcement. Without enforcement, laws and authority are meaningless. Take the USA and England as analogous to Taiwan and China. In the 1700s, England had a "One-England policy" and claimed authority over the US colonies. The US colonies disagreed. Some of the international community acknowl…

I think the PRC is less bothered about taking extreme measures than the UK was also less incompetent. If George III had had as big a bee in his bonnet about reclaiming the colonies as the PRC has about Taiwan I doubt that America would have remained independent - compare the Uk Army of 1770's vs Wellingtons Army circa 1812.

At the same time Taiwan is so small that any invasion would destroy anything of value. It is so dense, urban, forested, and mountainous that it would combine the worst parts of combat in Syria and Vietnam.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#45

Post by jorblumesea »

ilamont wrote: post #34
CountSessine wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another more depressing assessment: Google is placing a bet on annexation, as the PRC has repeatedly insisted it will do by any means necessary Unlikely. Taiwan is really no closer to annexation now than it was in 1972. The situation with Taiwan has always been left intentionally vague. The CCP doesn't have to suffer the humiliation of acknowledging their own impotence and illegitimacy in bringing a 'rogue province'…

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

I doubt China will actively invade Taiwan. It goes against the soft power mentality they usually prefer. More than likely, Taiwan will be compromised by Chinese companies, power and influence and its democracy corrupted from within. There's also a strong pro-China and pro-unification movement.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#46

Post by CountSessine »

ilamont wrote: post #34
CountSessine wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another more depressing assessment: Google is placing a bet on annexation, as the PRC has repeatedly insisted it will do by any means necessary Unlikely. Taiwan is really no closer to annexation now than it was in 1972. The situation with Taiwan has always been left intentionally vague. The CCP doesn't have to suffer the humiliation of acknowledging their own impotence and illegitimacy in bringing a 'rogue province'…

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

Yes, of course. But I think I was responding more to the linked article and what seemed to be the original claim that China hasn't ruled out using force to take Taiwan. My point regarding that is,

1. Xi's sabre-rattling is nothing new. He's not the first scoundrel in Beijing to level these threats. And,

2. I doubt Google is basing their decision on any of this.

I think sometimes Westerners are shocked by how belligerent the Chinese government has become. Actually, the CCP has always been belligerent and their demands of and threats against our treaty allies have always been truculent and unreasonable. It's just that now we've made these scoundrels very powerful by trading with them. I hope its become clear to everyone that this was a civilization-level strategic blunder - that knee-capping western industrial labour unions probably wasn't worth empowering a new 21st century fascism in Asia.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#47

Post by KerrickStaley »

patcon wrote: post #36

Interesting. If I were Taiwanese, I would be very wary of the aspirations, and perhaps keep a #BlockSidewalk campaign idling in the driveway. I don't trust Google's ability to steward and govern a thoughtful city-building project that respects local agency and cares to tread softly around local power and autonomy

The article is not about Project Sidewalk or smart cities, it's about opening an office campus.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#48

Post by nostrademons »

ilamont wrote: post #34
CountSessine wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another more depressing assessment: Google is placing a bet on annexation, as the PRC has repeatedly insisted it will do by any means necessary Unlikely. Taiwan is really no closer to annexation now than it was in 1972. The situation with Taiwan has always been left intentionally vague. The CCP doesn't have to suffer the humiliation of acknowledging their own impotence and illegitimacy in bringing a 'rogue province'…

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

Amphibious assaults are really difficult, particularly of a large populated landmass. Iwo Jima cost the U.S. 30,000 casualties, Okinawa almost 70,000, to capture a tiny island with a garrison of about 100,000 with a huge (> 6:1) numerical superiority. Japan's military was a joke at the time. The U.S. didn't even try to capture Formosa (Taiwan), and atom-bombed Japan rather than risk an invasion of the home islands. The force advantage required for an amphibious assault scales super-linearly, and beyond a certain population may not be possible at all, because of the inability to get more than a certain number of landing craft on the beach in a given time period.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#49

Post by nostrademons »

CountSessine wrote: post #46
ilamont wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

Yes, of course. But I think I was responding more to the linked article and what seemed to be the original claim that China hasn't ruled out using force to take Taiwan. My point regarding that is, 1. Xi's sabre-rattling is nothing new. He's not the first scoundrel in Beijing to level these threats. And, 2. I doubt Google is basing their decision on any of this. I think sometimes Westerners are shocked by how belliger…

Particularly in Google's case, I doubt they see it as empowering 21st century fascism in Asia. There's no love lost between Google's executive leadership and the Chinese government. China has attempted to directly hack Google and steal its source code and data on multiple occasions, and there have been previous pull-outs over diplomatic relations between the two of them.

Rather, I think Google views its China expansion as a way to get an information beachhead on China's 800 million citizens. Once they become an ingrained habit for China's populace, they become very difficult to get rid of (the same way Uber and AirBnB have become virtually impossible to get rid of, despite breaking numerous municipal laws), and can leverage that foothold to expand their influence.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#50

Post by bobthepanda »

ilamont wrote: post #34
CountSessine wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another more depressing assessment: Google is placing a bet on annexation, as the PRC has repeatedly insisted it will do by any means necessary Unlikely. Taiwan is really no closer to annexation now than it was in 1972. The situation with Taiwan has always been left intentionally vague. The CCP doesn't have to suffer the humiliation of acknowledging their own impotence and illegitimacy in bringing a 'rogue province'…

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

Taiwan is

- small, dense, and urban, which means that everything of value is close together, and urban warfare is extremely difficult and costly.

- forested and mountainous, which would present problems with guerillas after a main invasion is over

- across a sea, so they will probably lose people just trying to get to Taiwan in the first place

If China were to militarily invade Taiwan they would probably bleed quite a lot and be the king of ashes in the end.

Post reply on HN