On Linux.CN's Closure and the Future of Open Source Communities in China

Today, we were deeply shocked and saddened by the news about Linux.CN's closure. While it is no coincidence that open source became increasingly commercialised as it became an industry here in China, we strongly believe in the value open source communities bring in facilitating experimentation and knowledge application, networking new contributors, and in fostering the continuation of an open source culture. Open source, however commercialised, will not stand without communities.

2024 marks one decade since the Chinese government's promulgation of the ITAI (Information Technology Application Innovation) program for domestic hardware and software application, in response to the troubling developments in the Sino-U.S. technological "cold war." However, as the program's adoption and widening application could not have been realised without open source software development, the numerous communities that organised the everyday operations of this effort is undoubtedly crucial to its success.

We would like to take this moment to sincerely thank 硬核老王 and members of the Linux.Cn Translation Team for their decades-long contribution. We wish them happiness and success. For the rest of us, we would like to show solidarity with our colleagues working tirelessly to keep open source communities alive.

— Kexy Biscuit