[Trimming to just the IETF Discussion list, as this topic is going to
be one heck of a time sink and flame thrower accelerant]
Before we get all high and mighty, check out 18 U.S.C.A. § 2384 and
18 U.S.C.A. § 2385.
Is it more likely such laws would be enforced in Beijing than in New
York? Unquestionably.
Is it likely that the Chinese government would look for trouble at the
IETF? Doubtful.
Will the Chinese government have a lassaiz faire approach to some
whacked out IETF participant looking for trouble? Probably not.
However, unless you are a Chinese national (in which case all bets are
off) you will probably fare better in the Chinese legal system than in
other places where we have held IETFs.
Yes, a Free Tibet license plate ($10 from the VA Department of Motor
Vehicles) might get you in trouble in Beijing. Then again, I wouldn't
drive around Miami with an "I Endorse Castro" bumper sticker, either.
True, you would not get arrested for the latter. Then again, you might
end up pummeled or worse.
I have been to many, many conferences and business meetings in China.
I would offer that one will find:
1. Beijing is way more expensive then you would expect.
2. Beijing has surprisingly good infrastructure. IETF anecdote: UK
interim LEMONADE meeting: no WiFi, only dial-up; only port 80 enabled;
all NATed
& Firewalled access. Beijing interim LEMONADE meeting: WiFi, nothing
blocked, actual Internet access. YMMV.
3. Beijing is a big city, like most big cities, meaning some pluses
and minuses, including the usual pickpockets, shady taxis, etc. offset
by thousands of years of culture.
4. Language will be an issue for non-speakers, but like any big city
you should be able to get around.
5. Beijing proper is geographically much, much, much larger than most
cities. If you decide to not stay in the conference hotel, be very
careful about how far away the conference venue is.
6. China's visa process, while infinitely better than that of the U.S.
and Russian Federation, is still a government-run bureaucracy that is
expensive and time-consuming. Apply for your visa as soon as you know
you will be going.
On Sep 18, 2009, at 12:26 PM, Carsten Bormann wrote:
On Sep 18, 2009, at 17:42, Marshall Eubanks wrote:
The IAOC does believe that this
condition would not prevent the IETF from conducting its business.
Marshall,
I also do not believe that the IETF needs to violate this condition
to do its business.
However, in this case there are two aspects out of control:
1) The IETF participants may have a different interpretation of the
condition than you and I have.
2) The people running the place may have a different interpretation
of the condition than you and I have.
I have lived close enough to what was the GDR for long enough to
know that 2 is an extremely uncontrollable problem.
(And I have been in the IETF long enough to think that 1 isn't much
more controllable.)
China certainly deserves to host a meeting.
Has the SAR (Hong Kong) been considered?
Gruesse, Carsten
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