[Venue-selection] Beijing

["Leslie Daigle (ThinkingCat)" <[e-mail]>]

The last IETF meeting in Beijing was challenging (air quality, although 
reportedly good for that time of year, was not livable).  The ICANN 
meeting that met there after the IETF did had a high level of scrutiny 
— (literally) photographers “hiding” behind potted plants, and 
devices scanned when left in hotel rooms.  There’s no real reason to 
think things are more welcoming in China at this point.

On a broader level, I think the State Department rating listed in your 
report is a clear indicator that the location is not safe for 
international travel, and given current international tensions, 
there’s no real reason to expect that will improve in the window of 
IETF meeting planning.

I have been to every IETF meeting since Danvers in 1995.   While there 
are other target cities on the IETF’s list that I’m not enthusiastic 
about meeting in, I’m pretty sure I would outright skip a meeting 
scheduled in China.

Leslie.


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Leslie Daigle
Principal, ThinkingCat Enterprises
[e-mail]
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