A new chart illustrates the love/hate relationship China has with technology. Having the largest internet user base in the world, along with a country-wide firewall, China has been at odds with the internet, as well as all sorts of corruption surrounding counterfeit technology, product knock-offs, cybercrime, etc.
Shanzhai, the Chinese outfit that copies Apple products, and maker of the D-Pad and the E-Pad, is blamed for taking part in cutting into 2.1 million U.S. jobs, at a loss of $48 billion in legitimate sales. So far, 22 completely fake Apple stores have been uncovered in China, featuring employees that actually believe their paychecks are coming from Cupertino, and there is no word on whether the fronts are selling real iOS products, Shanzhai knock-offs or straight counterfeits. And, the fact that Chinese counterfeiters operate so freely goes to show that the country’s intellectual property laws are a bit more loose than those in the U.S.
Chinese users of its version of Facebook presently outnumber the entire population of the United States, and cybercrime is rampant – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was hacked in 2010, promopting many companies to disallow employees visiting China from bringing mobile devices along, for fear of information being compromised.
Hat tip to Web Hosting Geeks