this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
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Sorry to burst your hexbear bubble, China mostly use out-dated Windows, even though they want to switch to linux, it is not even close to being done.
Even wechat is unsupported on linux, which makes linux unusable for most people in China. Plus most people need mirrors to use most FOSS software in China, with most of the privacy centric ones are completely blocked.
This is an example of such mirror: https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ , a more complete list can be found here: https://github.com/vra/mirrors-china. Most popular distros are included in these mirrors.
Basically there is few ways to get FOSS software and update directly from the developers in China, which tends to be the most secure way.
This is true of the consumer market, but the OP asked about governments, and 90% of government computers in China run Kylin or NeoKylin, with plans to consolidate the two into a single os. This follows the overall trend of China's tech sector seeking to replace imports (and copied versions of foreign tech) with fully domestic alternatives.
The link they give leads to a 404 page, which is disappointing. I have a few friend and family member works in the public sector and government of China, as far as I know, none of them have heard about linux.
So probably not 90% yet.
Link worked for me, but here's a copy : https://web.archive.org/web/20240405081510/https://www.zdnet.com/article/two-of-chinas-largest-tech-firms-are-uniting-to-create-a-new-domestic-os/
Sorry, I was referring to the links given in the article, not the article itself. Specifically, the source of their "90%" claim: http://www.cec.com.cn/jtxw/2019/1209/8ac085cc6e112a0f016ee947c8ac00b5.html
I have found a article (in Chinese, by Chinese media, to eliminate "western bias") documenting the current state of transition:
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_23639950
Although this article states that the transition is happening, but it seems like it is no where near mainstream in Chinese government.
There are also a Chinese government version of windows : https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/05/23/announcing-windows-10-china-government-edition-new-surface-pro/ , which seems like a strong competitor of linux.
Thanks.