[Fej]

The problem isn't necessarily the companies, it's that the government is in league with the companies and/or outright owns and runs them, so people are concerned about the Chinese government having their data. I am too, and I imagine most people here are as well.

[lucb1e]

Probably an unpopular opinion here, but for that matter, should I trust the American government? I'm not one of its citizens and deemed fine to spy on by American laws.

[Wingman4l7]

The American government has, historically, been more reluctant to disappear citizens whose viewpoints it disagrees with.

[lucb1e]

Good point, though I'm not physically in China either.

[khuey]

That hasn't stopped them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causeway_Bay_Books_disappearan...

[lucb1e]

In this one case perhaps. On the other hand, what would we have said if China attacked a middle eastern country in the name of "freeing it from a dictator" and it turned out their intelligence agencies tortured people there, or held "terrorists" on Chinese soil without any sort of trial? The barbarians!

There is enough mud to be thrown either way. As a country allied with the US (in general) I'm much less concerned by America's government, but the distrust of anything non-western... I mean, we are all people wanting to make a living in this world with much more in common than most are aware of.

[dmix]

It looks like the chinese were inspired by the CIA's use of 'rendition' to disappear people under extrajudicial pretense. Although I don't see the difference between China doing it in Hong Kong and the US doing it in Italy: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/world/europe/05italy.html

Italy is (and was) most certainly an 'allied' country to the US and it didn't stop them either.

[curt15]

>The problem isn't necessarily the companies, it's that the government is in league with the companies and/or outright owns and runs them

But that is precisely why people distrust the companies.