MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE • Hacker News Board

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#51

Post by nomnomray » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:17 PM UTC

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #30

tasuki wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there evidence they are? I don't trust Huawei all that much, rather I think whatever alternatives might also be whoever's operatives.

As a matter of government policy, all Chinese companies are government operatives. The Communist Party claims "overall leadership over all areas of endeavour in every part of the country".

isn't all companies subject to the laws of their respective host countries? The narrative of "party rules all" is way too simplistic to form an argument. At least I would be curious to look for past events of how the party exerted influence on non-state-owned-enterprises.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#52

Post by geofft » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:20 PM UTC

writepub wrote: post #50

CodeSheikh wrote: post #16

I wonder if US carriers can start discouraging consumers from using Huawei, ZTE cellphones. They know the IMEI numbers.

Illegal and unconstitutional. It's not up to the carries to dictate which phones work on their Network. That's the reason for standardization of network protocols Do you really want, hypothetically, a phone maker, say Apple, to get into a sweetheart deal with AT&T and make phone service on non Apple IMEIs unreliable? Or for AT&T to target certain political, religious groups ....

Unconstitutional? The carriers are private companies, I'm not sure what in the Constitution would apply. (I'd agree with "illegal" for the same reasons Ma Bell can't require that you use one of their phones on their phone lines, but that's just because lawmakers decided it should be illegal; they weren't constitutionally obligated to make it illegal.)

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#53

Post by ghobs91 » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:24 PM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #12

It could be argued that if the news needs to introduce you as "an elite US school", you aren't really an elite school. That's an odd conclusion to draw about MIT though. Who's the target audience here? MIT really is internationally known.

It's more a way to draw attention to the headline than anything.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#54

Post by hangonhn » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:25 PM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #12

It could be argued that if the news needs to introduce you as "an elite US school", you aren't really an elite school. That's an odd conclusion to draw about MIT though. Who's the target audience here? MIT really is internationally known.

It may surprise some of you but the idea of "elite school" is unknown to a good percent, possibly the majority, of people even in the US. I went to an "elite school" and my GF didn't think much of it. She just thought that it's a school where a lot of politicians and rich people send their kids but didn't infer any special status or qualifications from that observation. In some ways, she's absolutely right but culturally among some circles the idea of "elite school" exists and value is placed on that idea. It happens that the same circle of people who hold this idea are often themselves "elite" or at the very least privileged in some ways. So by labelling MIT "elite" the news article is signaling to people that this news is a "big deal".

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#55

Post by aurailious » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:25 PM UTC

lexs wrote: post #27

azinman2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well when they copy and outcompete all your industries, then I think you’d notice some consequences.

The US has been caught doing industrial espionage as well, more of a pest or cholera situation here.

This is an amazing case of whataboutism.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#56

Post by i_am_proteus » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:25 PM UTC

writepub wrote: post #50

CodeSheikh wrote: post #16

I wonder if US carriers can start discouraging consumers from using Huawei, ZTE cellphones. They know the IMEI numbers.

Illegal and unconstitutional. It's not up to the carries to dictate which phones work on their Network. That's the reason for standardization of network protocols Do you really want, hypothetically, a phone maker, say Apple, to get into a sweetheart deal with AT&T and make phone service on non Apple IMEIs unreliable? Or for AT&T to target certain political, religious groups ....

I think I missed the part of the Constitution that prohibits a telecommunications company from determining which devices can operate on its network.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#57

Post by cf498 » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:28 PM UTC

ianai wrote: post #7

farresito wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an European, I would rather get spied on by the US than by China.

The US does not have execution vans for dissidents whereas China does, for instance.

I am not a Chinese dissident. China is not going around the globe putting people in execution vans there. So my personal consequences of Chinese surveillance are rather limited. The possible impact on my life is in no way comparable to the possible impact of the same by the US. I would like to not be mistook landing on no-fly lists, being banned from international banking as well as from making business with any company.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#58

Post by escapecharacter » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

ianai wrote: post #3

Is there any evidence that these two companies aren’t Chinese government operatives?

Couldn’t you count any US based company that takes major government contracts, or has board members who were formerly high in government (eg. Dropbox/Condoleezza Rice) as a “government operative”?

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#59

Post by rfwhyte » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

farresito wrote: post #6

titanix2 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it make any difference when US companies are participating in PRISM anyway?

As an European, I would rather get spied on by the US than by China.

As a Canadian I would tend to agree. My take on things is that while both countries spy, the reasons they do it are what matters. Broadly speaking the US spies to prevent terrorism and violence, where as China spies to steal IP, control their international diaspora for political purposes at home and abroad, and to destabilize democracies. The CCP worldview is incredibly cynical.

Re: MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE

#60

Post by b_tterc_p » Thu, Apr 04, 2019, 4:32 PM UTC

ei8htyfi5e wrote: post #31

thaumasiotes wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They know MIT in China too. They don't read Reuters much though.

I used to live there and they don't really know MIT in China. I'd say only among the academics. Certainly not a household name.

Are you sure? Because there’s a bus load of fascinated Chinese tourists clamoring to look at MIT every other hour.