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Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

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Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#41

Post by pcr0 »

07d046 wrote: post #22

An interesting aspect of this is that this is an online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control. They normally exercise strict control over their internet to prevent movements from getting out of their control (for example, censoring #metoo when it starts trending). Would the Chinese government be willing to block GitHub? Surely that would be damaging to China's tech industry. What if people…

> online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control

False (for Chinese residents). China used to block GitHub but stopped doing that when they realized they could politely ask GitHub to block access to certain pages from Chinese IPs. [0]

[0]: https://qz.com/718465/chinas-fierce-censors-try-a-new-tactic...

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#42

Post by discordance »

I collaborated on a project with developers at QQ a few years back and here are a couple of anecdotes:

1. A 32 year old (!) developer I was working with one-on-one from QQ had a heart attack two weeks before, but was pressured (while in hospital) to come back to work as soon as possible. 2. At the QQ office, I watched an entire group (50+ developers) have a nap heads down at their desk after lunch.

If any developers from China are listening in. Leave your company, take your colleagues and start one with better conditions. You are some of best engineers I've worked with and deserve better.

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#43

Post by 07d046 »

pcr0 wrote: post #41
07d046 wrote: post #22

An interesting aspect of this is that this is an online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control. They normally exercise strict control over their internet to prevent movements from getting out of their control (for example, censoring #metoo when it starts trending). Would the Chinese government be willing to block GitHub? Surely that would be damaging to China's tech industry. What if people…

> online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control False (for Chinese residents). China used to block GitHub but stopped doing that when they realized they could politely ask GitHub to block access to certain pages from Chinese IPs. [0] [0]: https://qz.com/718465/chinas-fierce-censors-try-a-new-tactic...

Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. I wonder if anything will happen with this protest then. For communists, the Chinese government isn't fond of labor protests.

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#44

Post by 07d046 »

discordance wrote: post #42

I collaborated on a project with developers at QQ a few years back and here are a couple of anecdotes: 1. A 32 year old (!) developer I was working with one-on-one from QQ had a heart attack two weeks before, but was pressured (while in hospital) to come back to work as soon as possible. 2. At the QQ office, I watched an entire group (50+ developers) have a nap heads down at their desk after lunch. If any developers…

A Chinese friend once had a wisdom tooth taken out and was back in the office that afternoon.

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#46

Post by jwong_ »

discordance wrote: post #42

I collaborated on a project with developers at QQ a few years back and here are a couple of anecdotes: 1. A 32 year old (!) developer I was working with one-on-one from QQ had a heart attack two weeks before, but was pressured (while in hospital) to come back to work as soon as possible. 2. At the QQ office, I watched an entire group (50+ developers) have a nap heads down at their desk after lunch. If any developers…

Taking naps during lunchtime is very common in Chinese offices

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#47

Post by uranusjr »

discordance wrote: post #42

I collaborated on a project with developers at QQ a few years back and here are a couple of anecdotes: 1. A 32 year old (!) developer I was working with one-on-one from QQ had a heart attack two weeks before, but was pressured (while in hospital) to come back to work as soon as possible. 2. At the QQ office, I watched an entire group (50+ developers) have a nap heads down at their desk after lunch. If any developers…

That heart attack incident is terrible. The nap part, however, is not particularly concerning. Nap after lunch is encouraged in the Chinese culture, and schools have a dedicated “noon nap” slot. Your Chinese coworkers likely nap not because they are so tired they have to, but because they and everyone else have done it their whole lives (and why not, napping feels good).

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#48

Post by smudgymcscmudge »

pcr0 wrote: post #41
07d046 wrote: post #22

An interesting aspect of this is that this is an online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control. They normally exercise strict control over their internet to prevent movements from getting out of their control (for example, censoring #metoo when it starts trending). Would the Chinese government be willing to block GitHub? Surely that would be damaging to China's tech industry. What if people…

> online protest on a platform that the Chinese government doesn't control False (for Chinese residents). China used to block GitHub but stopped doing that when they realized they could politely ask GitHub to block access to certain pages from Chinese IPs. [0] [0]: https://qz.com/718465/chinas-fierce-censors-try-a-new-tactic...

That appears to be the first and last time they received a request from China. https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns

On the other hand, Russia...

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#49

Post by smudgymcscmudge »

whoisjuan wrote: post #40
smudgymcscmudge wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking for some 996ers of your own? This might not be the best time and to place to ask about that.

Absolutely not. Quite the contrary. If they are unhappy with this conditions (and they rightfully are), it seems like an opportunity to hire them and give them reasonable work hours. I have met several Chinese programmers through out the years and was always impressed with their skills and work ethics.

I’m sorry to question your motives. Somehow I horribly misread the tone of your comment the first time around.

Re: Chinese Devs Using GitHub to Protest 996 Workweek (9am – 9pm, 6 days/week)

#50

Post by outloudvi »

mariopt wrote: post #17
whoisjuan wrote: post #6

I always had a question about hiring Chinese engineers remotely. Is it easy to handle salary payments to China and will the Chinese Firewall interfere with any web development activity they have to do? Is anyone here doing it?

Not sure about this but I think yes. China has network filtering software for VPNs, in fact, the more advanced anti VPN blocker tools are Chinese due to the firewall. They have several websites blocked like Google, Facebook (no OAuth integrations). Anything that involves networking might suffer. They would probably get a police visit if the firewall has triggers for sshing into a server (common in devops). Not joking…

Having a based company in China is not really a good idea unless you have a great market in China. You have to treat data seriously (not the privacy part, but the censorship and available-for-government-to-read part, like Russia).

Things like Apple saving data of mainland China Apple IDs in GZData concerned a lot of people.

[EDIT: Typo fix]

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