More talk of Linux in China

The Finish group Open Tuesday came to Beijing last Tuesday, January 30th to expand its communication network about the wonderful world of Open Source. If you go to their site, the main page states “There is a lot of talk, and exploration globally into Open Source, … in both public and private sector, but real action is only now starting to take off.” From what I understand this group is more like a Linus Torvalds fan club, also, they themselves are more interested in talk then action, unlike OSDL or The Free Software Foundation .

The event, as reported to me, ended up being more a networking event for diplomats and company executives then a planning or even an investigative meeting on Open Source promotion in China. I am all for more groups being active in China, however, I would hope groups coming in, and especially groups as high profile as Open Tuesday, would at least bring with them the case studies and experience gained in Finland and try to indoctrinate their Chinese counterparts on the benefits of Open Source Software, from a business as well as technological point of view.

I may be a little harsh, and I should be more understanding, this was only their launch meeting, but their inability to light the imagination of the technologists in the room will make it hard for them to get people to return to their meetings. I guess I am also a little disappointed that when a friend of mine mentioned cooperation with the BLUG they didn’t seem too interested. In any case, they supposedly did a great job creating an environment for many Open Source professionals to share ideas and interests.

Beijing welcomes you Open Tuesday. I hope you will live up to your mission and promote Open Standards and be active in the China community. However, the first meeting left some wondering if this was merely a house call promoted by Finish business and government interests.