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A comment on China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeting $100B to achieve it. Parent comment

Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by TheLogothete on Saturday January 30, 2016 @05:36AM (#11001400)
There was a front page story here, on HN, about a guy that made some component to make VPNs work in China, stopping all work because the secret police threatened his life.
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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by rorykoehler on Saturday January 30, 2016 @10:48AM (#11002236)
I raise you one Edward Snowden.
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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by ggreer on Saturday January 30, 2016 @01:26PM (#11003042)
I don't see how that's remotely comparable. In the US, state officials simply don't threaten your life for writing software.

Despite leaking state secrets, Snowden's life was never threatened by US officials. Yes, he's a whistleblower, but his actions are far more serious than developing software. Even then, US officials talk of imprisonment at worst.

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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by marshray on Saturday January 30, 2016 @04:26PM (#11003832)
> Snowden's life was never threatened by US officials

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/11/ron-paul-us-gover...

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-spies-talk-about-killing-s...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/edward-snowden-...

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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by ggreer on Saturday January 30, 2016 @07:23PM (#11004540)
Your first link is Ron Paul worrying out loud. There are no actual threats being made there.

Your second link cites Buzzfeed as a source, and the Buzzfeed article[1] claims some unnamed low-level officials would like to kill Snowden. Yet these anonymously-quoted people also admit that they wouldn't do it unless they had approval from higher up. Pretty close, but still not a threat.

Your last link is about a retired government official making a joke in very poor taste.

None of these are actual threats, let alone by US officials. They're either idle musings, or bad jokes, or "I want to, but I'm not going to." I certainly don't agree with the people making these despicable statements, but they're qualitatively different from, "If you don't stop leaking state secrets, you will die."

1. http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/americas-spies-want-edw...

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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by chrischen on Saturday January 30, 2016 @05:56AM (#11001439)
VPNs do work in China, and it is a sovereign nation's right to enact and enforce laws it believes are just and necessary.

My sister's home town in Michigan says it's illegal to spit on the ground. America threatens jail time for possessing weed!

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Re:China wants to become a semiconductor superpower, budgeti... by TheLogothete on Saturday January 30, 2016 @06:02AM (#11001451)
I don't think debating axiology with strangers on the internet is worth it.
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