Re: linux: Goodbye from a Linux community volunteer

Jiaxun Yang
2024-10-24T16:01:16Z

在2024年10月24日十月 下午3:50，James Bottomley写道：
> On Thu, 2024-10-24 at 07:27 +0300, Serge Semin wrote:
>> Hello Linux-kernel community,
[...]

Hi James,

Sorry to chime in here, and thanks for making things clear.

However, I have some questions regarding this statement, please see below:

> Please accept all of our apologies for the way this was handled. A
> summary of the legal advice the kernel is operating under is

In what capacity this statement was made, i.e, who is "our" here and "we"
below? Are you representing any formal group in this case?

>
> If your company is on the U.S. OFAC SDN lists, subject to an OFAC
> sanctions program, or owned/controlled by a company on the list, our
> ability to collaborate with you will be subject to restrictions, and
> you cannot be in the MAINTAINERS file.
>
> Anyone who wishes to can query the list here:
>
> https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/

I did a quick search and found the following entry:

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Under CMIC-EO13959 sanction program.

Although it's a Non-SDN sanction, it can still be interpreted as
"subject to an OFAC sanctions program".

How should we handle it?

>
[...]
>
> Again, we're really sorry it's come to this, but all of the Linux
> infrastructure and a lot of its maintainers are in the US and we can't
> ignore the requirements of US law. We are hoping that this action
> alone will be sufficient to satisfy the US Treasury department in
> charge of sanctions and we won't also have to remove any existing
> patches.

I truly appreciate that someone has finally addressed the underlying issue.
I understand the importance of protecting infrastructure and maintainers from
potential legal threats by ensuring compliance. My intent in asking these
questions is not to place anyone in a difficult position, but simply to gain a
better understanding of the situation, so I can take appropriate action to
keep everyone safe.

Disclaimer: I have no connection to any sanctioned body, and I'm a resident
of UK.

Thanks

>
> Regards,
>
> James Bottomley

--
- Jiaxun