At first, it sounds like a good idea. Nanchang, the capital of China's eastern Jiangxi province, is requiring Internet cafe operators to replace pirated server software with legal copies of Red Flag Linux or Windows Server. What's not to like? It's estimated that China has an 82% software piracy rate. Getting businesses to go legal with a native Chinese Linux sounded like a win to me. Until, I saw the Red Flag Linux price tag: 5,000 yuan, that's $725 U.S. That's way over the line for a small Chinese business.

当初，这听起来像一个好主意。中国东部江西省省会南昌市要求网吧经营者使用红旗Linux或Windows服务器的合法拷贝，以取代盗版的服务器软件。这有什么不同吗？据估计，中国软件盗版率为82％。让企业走正道使用中国本地Linux对我来说就像赢得一场比赛。直到我发现红旗Linux的标价是：5000元即725美元为止。那远远超过一家小型中国企业的界线。

Nanchang has about 600 Internet cafes for its approximately 4-million citizens. In China, for most people, Internet cafes are still the way they use to connect with the Internet. China made be home for Lenovo and many other PC vendors, but you're not going to find PCs and broadband in most homes.

南昌大约有600家网吧服务近四百万市民。在中国，对于大多数人来说，网吧仍然是他们用来连接互联网的方式。虽然联想集团和许多其他PC厂商的产地就在中国，但别想在大多数家庭中找到电脑和宽带。

That said, no one's getting rich from the Internet cafes. They're small mom and pop businesses. They can't afford $725 for an operating system and they're letting the officials know about it. Unfortunately, it's not doing much good. One said, "When you talk to officials from the Culture Department, they tell you, 'If you're willing to pay, pay; if not, you have the option not to pay.' Hearing words like that turns your heart cold. We really can't make a living." In other words, you can either pay to play or you can go out of business.

据说，没有人从网吧致富。这些小企业是家庭作坊。他们付不起725美元购买操作系统，而且他们正在让官员了解这一点。遗憾的是，没有多少效果。有一位说，“当你和文化部门的官员谈论时，他们告诉你，‘如果你愿意付钱，就给；不然，你可以选择不付钱。’听到那样的话，心都变冷。我们真的无法赚钱过日子。”换句话说，不是付钱营业，就是关门大吉。

Why not use another Linux? The local Culture Department, which is in charge of this new initiative, won't accept other Linux distributions. Nor, for that matter, it seems, will they believe Internet cafe owners who insist that they have legal copies of Windows.

为什么不用其他的Linux？当地负责这一新举措的文化部门不愿接受其他Linux发行版。就事论事，似乎他们也不相信网吧业主坚称他们拥有合法的Windows拷贝。

This sounds to me like a straight-forward shakedown. I have no doubt that many of the cafes are using illegal software. That said, the government should be giving them the option of going with an affordable and legal Linux instead of insisting that they pay a premium price for a specific distribution.

对我来说，这听起来简直就是敲诈。我毫不怀疑，许多网吧正在使用非法软件。这就是说，政府应该让他们去选择一个负担得起费用而且合法的Linux，而不是坚决要求网吧业主为一个特定的发行版支付溢价。

Linux is a winning operating system because it's a great, affordable choice. Forcing it down people's throats at a high price is no way to win friends or make them want to do more with Linux.

Linux是一个得人欢心的操作系统，因为它是一个伟大的、负担得起的选择。强迫人们接受高价是没有办法赢得朋友、或者让他们与Linux更好相处。