Remember the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do”?

Like when a mother tells her child not to smoke as she’s puffing away.

Well, in China, the more insightful lesson seems to be the reverse – do as I do, not as I say.

Like when China propigates pirated goods even as it forbids it.

The government has been paying serious lip service to a nationwide piracy crackdown, evidenced recently by Wang Qishan, vice premier of China’s State Council, who unveiled the government’s plan to combat intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in his own Wall Street Journal editorial titled “No More Chinese Knock-Offs.”

“We are confident that China’s national IPR strategy, with its full enforcement, will result in more strict legal protection of intellectual property rights and greater respect for innovation achievements,” Mr. Wang wrote.

In Beijing, strict measures indeed were taken surrounding the Olympics, including the shuttering of fake DVD shops.

Well, those DVD shops are back in force.

Pirated software is cheaply – if not freely - available. And you can be sure you can still find an “Adidasi” clothes line somewhere in clear violation of Adidas trademarks.

The government has spoken. But the people do as they do. They have purchased, and continue to purchase, cheap fake goods, and will only be lured away from such habits by their own aspirations to buy the real deal if only because, with new money, they can. It’ll give them bragging rights.

Companies would be wise to do as the people do, contributing to the fabric of Chinese society, much of which is stolen. To profit in the midst of piracy, they could offer discounted software, enticing incentives to opt for genuine goods, or develop new revenue models.

Enter Microsoft, which on Tuesday, during its Global Anti-Piracy Day, A-Bombed the Chinese people with Windows Genuine Advantage, which blacks out the desktop background of computers harboring pirated software.

You can be sure the next time astronauts view China from space, they’ll much more likely see a giant black hole than the Great Wall, courtesy of all the darkened PCs.

A firestorm followed.

According to Technewsworld.com:

One Chinese user complained that Microsoft had no right to hijack his computer.

Another, a lawyer, actually filed an official complaint against Microsoft for hacking, and called Microsoft the biggest hacker in China.

On Thursday, Microsoft began to realize the nuclearity of their action. In an open letter to users, the the company wrote, “In recent years, protection of intellectual property rights received more attention, but we realize that this is a long-term process, requiring support from all areas of society,” according to PC World.

But instead of sorting out the angry wounded with the serious intensity of triage, the company argued that users’ computers will not cease to work. They played with words, suggesting its actions didn’t result in a “black screen” for unauthorized software versions, but rather caused the “desktop background” to “go black.”

For a nation persistently lost in translation – at least to English – the clarification likely feels more like continued castration.

If only Microsoft were dancing to the vibe of China, rather than listening to its government loudspeakers, it might have avoided ignominy the likes of Yahoo when it helped jail a China writer.

The company is wrong that protection of intellectual property rights “requires support from all areas of society.” In fact, it requires support from just one area – the people.

China isn’t a democratic state, and even so, it often does respect its government more than people do in electoral democracies. But whether you’re thick-headed enough to believe that repression is in full force in China, or progressive-minded enough to believe that what the government says people really take to heart here, either way, you’re wrong in tuning into the hearts and minds of Chinese people. For these hearts and minds truly are the people’s own, and from the bottom of their hearts, they are angry at Microsoft for infringing upon what’s theirs.

Last year, Fortune ran an article called “How Microsoft Conquered China.”

It noted that Bill Gates met with four members of the Politburo on a recent four-day trip to China when most companies are lucky to talk to one of China’s top leaders; how Chinese President Hu Jintao toured the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington and ate at Mr. Gates’ home; and how Mr. Jintao told Mr. Gates there that “You are a friend to the Chinese people, and I am a friend of Microsoft.”

The article also noted how Microsoft’s good reputation in China was a long time coming, only solidifying after it priced its software relatively cheaply, abandoned certain anti-piracy measures, and collaborated more with the government.

Lately however, it appears Microsoft has lost this balanced, prudent course of action.

Perhaps Mr. Gates has been too busy counting his wine-soaked blessings from Mr. Jintao to notice the company falling out of step with the Chinese people, who still want their cheap fake goods.

    Channel: Vital News     |