Cisco is beginning to draw attention on the 'net for its practice of selling network equipment to the Chinese Bureau of Public Security. This is the organization that beats up peaceful protesters, routinely engages in brutal physical torture, and is turning China's node of the Internet into a highly controlled state network, where typing a word like "freedom" on your personal Web site might get you a visit from the Bureau of Public Security.
Cisco is claiming they have not broken any laws, and that if they don't sell the equipment, someone else will.
It's a weak defense, in my opinion. Apparently for Cisco, making a buck is more important than doing the right thing, which is to say, simply and clearly, "We choose not do business with agencies that do the things the Bureau of Public Security does. We will not aid and abet such activities by providing the equipment that enables them."
Cisco's stance can be boiled down, very simply, "We'll do anything for money." It's unfortunate that an American success story like Cisco has come to this.