Frank Foley of TechSoup just announced that SL entrepreneur Anshe Chung has agreed to donate a second sim to the Non-profit Commons. We’ve been bursting at the seams and have more requests for office spaces than we can accommodate, so this is welcome news.
I was in on some of the side conversations on this between Glitteractica Cookie of TechSoup and Anshe at the Second Life Community Convention last weekend. Anshe was clearly happy with how the first sim has developed and wanted to support the Commons growing to include more groups and interests.
Non-profit groups interested in applying, head to nonprofitcommons.org for details.
Thanks so much, Anshe!
This is GREAT news.
It is nice to see a Chinese corporation that by default supports a repressive regime helping US based NGOs. Perhaps she could spend her money to help people in the country where she is based first?
So all Chinese business people by default are supporting the Chinese government? So all Cubans by default of being born in Cuba support Castro? Your logic defies me.
Here’s a great article on the very upstanding benefactor, Anshe Chung’s attempts to censor journalists:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rita-j-king/solving-real-world-proble_b_39161.html These actions are reflective of a person who does not behave in a manner that is consistent with most NGO values. She is clearly attempting to wash away some of her past sins by making really small donations to US-based NGOs.
Further, as a Chinese company, Anshe Chung Studios, is wholly controlled by the Chinese government, an extremely repressive regime. NGO’s who participate with the NPC are directly supporting the financial success (through positive publicity) of the Chinese regime.
Is this really the type of activity that Tech Soup wants to be supporting for a measly $2000 donation (the cost of a sim). Are their ethics really that low? If I was on their Board of Directors, I would want to know why the organization’s reputation was sold out for such a small amount of money.
By law in China, all businesses that are based there are ultimately controlled and owned by the Chinese government. Anshe had the choice to incorporate elsewhere (as many others do) but chose not to. Some percentage of revenue from Anshe Chung Studios absolutely flows to the Chinese Government, which means that by helping Anshe Chung Studios, you are helping the Chinese Government.
So she may have been a “virtual escort” at one point? Big effin deal. Are you calling that a “sin?”
Seriously, to maintain that any company in China is “wholly controlled” by the chinese government is just ignorant of the actual business environment there.
By operating a business in the United States, some portion of my profits goes to support the torture of detainees in Guantanamo Bay. So I am a torturer?
Really, you are stretching the bounds of logic.
But I welcome the discussion, and the consideration of how ethics and morals enters into our considerations of all our public lives, virtual and otherwise. We all enter into various areas of moral ambiguity, whether it is accepting money from the Ford Foundation, US AID, or the local liquor store owner. The answer is not to start throwing around accusations to each other, but to be transparent about these considerations and to move forward.
To make blanket accusations against one businessperson who happens to base her business in China and wants to give back to some non-profits seems to me to miss the larger issues of how NGOs seek support for their work. And frankly starts to sounds a bit racist in tone.
I couldn’t care less about her being an escort. I do care about her efforts to intimidate reporters with lawsuits because she didn’t like what they were writing. Read the article again.
In China, corporations are technically owned by the government by charter. The government has the ability to revoke charters, control the management of a company (if it chooses to) and certainly financially benefits at a higher percentage than the US government model of taxation based on a percentage of profit. The level of involvement (and benefit) by the Chinese government is a lot greater than in the US. Neither government is a poster child for human rights, but that probably is a discussion for another time (and a good one to have).
I don’t understand why you are such a cheerleader for Anshe Chung and her corporation. Do you have some sort of financial stake in this (either through ACS or Tech Soup) that you are not disclosing or are you really this much of a fan?
It is amazing that you are this outspoken on Net Neutrality (which I agree with you on) and not willing to stand up against other oppressive governments and their agents (once again, a Chinese corporation is by charter an agent of the Chinese government).
I haven’t researched Mrs. Chung’s personal backstory but I agree with Rik’s comment that it is unfair to attribute the sins of one’s government to its tax paying citizens simply because these tax revenues may ultimately support sometimes odious policies. One would be wise to consider the theological concept of “systemic evil” as it applies to our present secular context. -Jani
I haven’t researched Mrs. Chung’s personal backstory but I agree with Rik’s comment that it is unfair to attribute the sins of one’s government to its tax paying citizens simply because these tax revenues may ultimately support sometimes odious policies. One would be wise to consider the theological concept of “systemic evil” as it applies to our present secular context. -Jani
A Chinese Corporation (ie: a company incorporated in China) is ultimately owned and controlled by the government of China. That is very different from a more simple tax paying relationship. Ethically there could definitely be a valid argument that compares tax paying companies to companies that are owned by governments. I am happy to discuss those ethical theories, but that is redirecting the discussion away from the point (as are knee-jerk accusations of racial bias, btw).
I am concerned about Chinese government oppression and work with many organizations that are attempting to starve the Chinese government of funds in order to topple it. Anshe Chung Studios has financial relations with the Chinese government and deserves to be exposed as such. I actively work to make sure that any corporation who does business with or in China is similarly exposed. Tech Soup has knowingly (Susan knew about all of this many months ago) decided to allow their organization to be used by ACS and deserves the negative exposure they are and will get.
It is a shame because in general Tech Soup does a good job.
As the aforementioned Susan, I want to chime in here and set the facts straight about Anshe Chung. I think it is unfortunate that as a successful Chinese business owner, Anshe is held under this type of suspicion and accusation by Americans. I have debated this issue extensively with Chinese friends from China and they found it depressing, presumptuous and even racist to make the leap that Anshe is an unfair employer. I know Anshe and Guni, of Anshe Chung Studios, personally. I also know Trey, one of their employees who is an American but who works in their office in Wuhan. He can attest that they are actually fair, honest and benevolent people. Foo you are correct, we have had these discussions, extensively, exhaustively and we have grilled ACS about their practices and their philosophies on censorship and other issues. Suffice to say that we are confident that they will not censor any project in our nonprofit community and they are very fair employers. Please, trust that we did not make the decisions we made without investigation. The donation that they made to nonprofits (incidentally, a $40,000 value if you include design team’s time not a $2,000 value. The Dresden Library build which is comparable cost $40k)Finally, Foo, (and it seems you know me, why not unveil your real identity?) no one (read: NO ONE)is getting paid for the nonprofit commons community efforts. I am doing it as a part of my paid job, but I, like the rest of this entirely volunteer-run community, spend countless additional hours helping our community thrive. I can assure you Rik is not financially benefitting from this activity. (I wish he was!!) He is just in favor of helping spread the donation and lower the barrier of access to SL.
-Susan
It’s a shame that we speak poorly of the entire Chinese people because of the actions of their leadership. ACS has been a unique partnership between Germany, China and the entire grid for years….why should we think poorly of them for choosing to locate their company in a country that they enjoy living and working in?
If we all have to like the leadership of the country we live in some of us are never going to find a home. Some believe that change must come from within.
Anshe was recommended to me by people I trust when entering the grid two years ago and has delivered on every promise made so far. Meeting Anshe’s husband and hearing her at NPC reinforced the quiet strength seen in Anshe’s work inworld. I think they are good people and should not be judged unfairly. They have shown great generosity and an ability to rise above blogspam.
Thanks, Susan.
Foo, I think your efforts to work toward a less repressive Chinese government are laudable and admirable. I have on many occasions lent my support to groups like EFF and EPIC that work toward fighting the censorship of the internet and press within China.
How one relates one’s position toward a government and toward the citizens and businesses within that government is of course a personal one. Do you refrain from buying all goods that came from China? Do you avoid Chinese food? These become questions of degrees of association and culpability that are philosophical as well as economic and political.
For me, and others in the NPC, the fact that Anshe happens to be Chinese and happens to base her business in China does not automatically mean that we should reject her donation or that we are somehow propping up the Chinese government by in some sense supporting her business.
We do share your concern about business practices and fair labor treatment. My conversations with Guni and Anshe and other staff at Anshe Chung studios gives me some confidence that they are treating their workers with an appropriate level of dignity and remuneration for their services. If other evidence comes to light in opposition to this, we’ll of course revisit the issue.
At the end of the day, everyone should make a judgment call about the kinds of businesses, non-profits and governments you wish to associate with. We’ve made ours at the NPC and feel comfortable with it. If you have other feelings, you should feel more than free to take your business elsewhere, set up shop on other sims, and make your own views known. That is the essense of the public sphere.
Respectfully yours, Rik
Everyone seems to enjoy being over-defensive and start expanding my argument way beyond what I have stated as my concern. The biggest concern here has nothing to do with the person involved (although admittedly there has been some odd behavior of threatening journalists), but rather the fact that money that goes to Anshe Chung Studios ends up supporting the Chinese government. Tech Soup has, by allowing their organization to be used for publicity purposes directly caused Anshe Chung Studios to benefit which is in turn supporting the Chinese government.
I am not and have not made statements about labor practices, products, Chinese people, or anything else that others have raised in this thread.
I do absolutely believe that no organization that considers itself to be socially responsible should accept donations from corporations incorporated in China. Period, end of story. You certainly are welcome to disagree with me.
Foo, just curious here, why are you afraid to identify yourself?
I don’t care to share, Susan. Why is it that you are only focusing on personal identity? There are substantive issues that we could be discussing here, rather than devolving into taking things personally. Let’s keep the conversation to the issues.
I see this has died a natural death, as do most of these little contretemps.
But, I came across it late in the game due to neglecting my emails, and I can’t resist making a few points. For those of you who are bored of this issue already, please fast forward to my last point at the bottom, it is the only one that really matter.
1. The US Government and the US business community supports the Chinese Government with billions of dollars of trade each year. How many billions of dollars is the alleged publicity ACS gets from the NPC donation worth?
2. I have no idea how much money ACS gives within China to help improve conditions there, is that public knowledge? And, if we take the position that people should only give money to solve drastic conditions within their own country, whither Darfur?
3. What’s with the argument about the value of the NPC sim being either $2,000 (too low based only on what a NPO would have to pay the Lindens, much less a builder) and $40,000 (too high unless the build was customized for the tenant(s) and the purchaser was too lazy to find a builder who would work for a reasonable price)? Are we trying to decide what is the cutoff level for a “sellout”?
To my final point (I do have one). In the end, if argument is “the fact that money that goes to Anshe Chung Studios ends up supporting the Chinese government.” (pro or con), I am thinking that regardless of outcome, the Chinese government could care less. On the other hand, I am writing a check today for $500.00 to an organization (local, in this case, but that isn’t really the issue) that aims to improve the lives of people who have for one reason or another found it difficult to get by in this world of plenty we live in. I would recommend that everyone who is truly interested in making a difference in the world do the same. It will have a much greater impact than winning a debate on a topic as insignificant as this one.
Wow! I have known and collaborated with Anshe for over 2.5 years and have known her to be a very generous, socially minded and active individual. The BS flying around is strictly created by idiots who resent that a Chinese woman was resourceful enough to provide land services to thousands of second life residents and earned over one million US$ in so doing.
An Escort avatar .. really .. you can’t be serious? Copy and paste text on a computer screen? By the way there is no evidence that ever happened. Her detractors love to make up stories to disparage her. The 100 people she employes in China and others around the globe, are all happy to work for a generous entrepreneur.
I pay taxes to the federal government in US. My money is being used to wage war in Iraq. So I am to blame for the bloodshed ? Tell me where I should move to so my taxes are not used for immoral ventures. does the US government own the corporations because they pay taxes? Or maybe the other way around?
I find these arguments without logic. Anshe is school teacher with a family and a thriving business. I look forward to her 10th million US$ and the tenth sim for the NPC
Gabe / MQ
Wow! I have known and collaborated with Anshe for over 2.5 years and have known her to be a very generous, socially minded and active individual. The BS flying around is strictly created by idiots who resent that a Chinese woman was resourceful enough to provide land services to thousands of second life residents and earned over one million US$ in so doing.
An Escort avatar .. really .. you can’t be serious? Copy and paste text on a computer screen? By the way there is no evidence that ever happened. Her detractors love to make up stories to disparage her. The 100 people she employes in China and others around the globe, are all happy to work for a generous entrepreneur.
I pay taxes to the federal government in US. My money is being used to wage war in Iraq. So I am to blame for the bloodshed ? Tell me where I should move to so my taxes are not used for immoral ventures. does the US government own the corporations because they pay taxes? Or maybe the other way around?
I find these arguments without logic. Anshe is school teacher with a family and a thriving business. I look forward to her 10th million US$ and the tenth sim for the NPC
Gabe / MQ