Snaptu: Facebook’s China Back Door? Facebook在中国走“後门”？

Now that the salt shortage in Shanghai seems to be easing as people realize it isn’t practical to ingest 10 kg of salt per day to protect themselves from  Japanese radiation, it’s time to move on to some real news. One interesting report today is coming from the US, where China lockout victim Facebook seems to be sniffing for a backdoor into the country. The world’s most popular social networking site, available nearly everywhere except for China, said over the weekend it will buy mobile apps developer Snaptu for around $70 million (English article; Chinese article). As chance would have it, a friend was telling me a few nights ago how Snaptu offers mobile phone users a backdoor into Facebook in China, though I haven’t verified this personally. It’s an interesting concept, and I’ve no doubt this may be part of Facebook’s consideration in buying Snaptu. But let’s face it, Facebook: China doesn’t want you, and I’d say it’s just a matter of weeks, months or even days now before Snaptu users find their service suddenly blocked. So other popular sites like Kaixinwang and Renren, both candidates for overseas IPOs in the not-too-distant future, need not worry — the censors in Beijing will protect you from the evil Facebook.

Bottom line: Facebook’s Snaptu buy could provide a backdoor into China, but it’s just a matter of time  (probably very short) before Snaptu also falls victim to Chinese censors.

美国传来消息，在中国被封的社交网站巨头Facebook似乎正寻求曲线进入中国市场。

这 家（在除了中国以外的）全球最火的社交网站周末称，将以7,000万美元价格购买移动应用程序开发商Snaptu。凑巧，最近有朋友告诉我 说，Snaptu程序让手机用户能在中国访问Facebook。尽管我还没能亲自验证这种说法，这的确是个有趣的情况，恐怕也是Facebook购买 Snaptu的动机之一。但容我向Facebook说句大实话：中国就是不想让你进来。如果真想通过Snaptu走後门，这後门被堵死也是早晚的事。所 以，最近有意在海外IPO的中国社交网站开心网和人人都不必惊慌：北京有贵人相助尔等，把那些邪恶的Facebook拒之城下。

一句话：後门不可靠。（完）