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

[borka at e5.ijs.si]

I fully support Dave stand point. Excluding China and Chinese users
is certainly not good strategy.  As the China application is under
ICCAN realm, some way could be found to meet the basic requirements for 
using the brand name Internet Society by  China organization.

Regards,

Borka



On Sun, 21 Feb 2016, 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)
> 
>