<i>I am just pointing that giving a tool to someone you KNOW oppresses others is very different from selling to a neutral buyer.</i><p>If you want to make it about politics, then so be it.  How about we discuss the practices of the U.S. government?  Need I point out that we originally brought the Taliban to power?  Need I point out that we originally brought Saddam Hussein to power?  Need I point out that millions of Cubans suffer everyday because we have decided to punish an entire country because we are upset with a couple hundred members of their government?  If you want to talk about oppression, look at the huge amount of oppression created by the United States government.<p>To get back to my point though, what Microsoft is doing is business.  The Chinese market is huge.  They would be foolish not to do business in China.  Furthermore, the very fact that you feel Microsoft should withhold things from the Chinese people is hypocritical to begin with.  Think about the improvements the technology brings to the people.  In the case of Internet Explorer, I can't think of anything more oppressive than denying a people the right to technology, with the ability to open doors to the world, that is being given away freely in other parts of the world.