[Chapter-delegates] How do we incorporate China and other countries that are different?

Chester Soong chester at soong.net
Sun Feb 21 20:40:31 PST 2016


*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
Despite my personal feeling and understanding of the ISC, I must agree 
with Dave here on this very topic of developing the Internet for the 
benefits of mankind, with a narrow view.

Chester

On 2/22/2016 12:25 PM, Dave Burstein wrote:
> Kathy and folk, with respect
>
> Using the name Internet Society of CHina is tasteless, but there are
> much more important issues in this discussion.
>
> China has twice as many Internet users as the U.S. and the gap is
> growing at 5-8M users per year. Africa is about to pass 315M Internet
> users, the entire population of the United States. (Cisco data.) Cheap
> smartphones are bringing two _billion_ more people to the Internet. We
> all think that's a great thing.
>
> *I do not believe Internet governance (or ISOC) can be effective with
> the majority of world Internet users excluded.* As Ambassador Phil
> Verveer said to me the night of the ITU WCIT vote, "We must build bridges."
>
> *It's time for a Nixon Goes to China move for the Internet. *Kathy, Vint
> or whoever is leading us should be finding a way to work with all
> nations. Bob Kahn, an Internet Society founder, might be one natural
> link. He spoke at that conference in China, as did several other
> Internet Society supporters.
>
> I'm not blind to how many people starved in the 1950's in China, what
> happened at Tiananmen Square, or the speech limitations in China today.
> I'm also not blind to what America did in Vietnam or the $billions being
> spent to buy the U.S. elections.
>
> I'm sure we all can make lawyer-like arguments here. But it's missing
> the key issue. We need to solve the North-South divide about the Internet.
>
> In Dubai at the WCIT a few hours before that vote, I asked Larry
> Strickling why the U.S. was fighting so hard over what seemed to me some
> very minor issues, at most of symbolic value. He looked at me and asked,
> "Dave, do you want Russia or China to be running the Internet?" We both
> went back to work.
>
> Later, I realized I should have said, "Of course I want Russia and China
> to have a meaningful role. If we continue to exclude them, ultimately
> the Internet will split."
>
> I did not know at that time that no Chinese were on the Board of ICANN
> because that would not be acceptable to the U.S.
>
> The Internet Society should be leading the way. Excluding China - and so
> many others - I believe will fail.
>
> --------------
>
> Which doesn't say anything about whether this is the right way to handle
> who is a civil society group. That's a side issue. The big question is
> whether the ICANN board and the decision makers of all important groups
> here see more than one side of the North South divide.
>
> Dave Burstein.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Editor, Fast Net News, Net Policy News and DSL Prime
> Author with Jennie Bourne  DSL (Wiley) and Web Video: Making It Great,
> Getting It Noticed (Peachpit)
>
>
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