Cisco, a leading manufacturer of computer networking equipment, is one of several technology companies that have been criticized recently for selling high-tech equipment to police agencies in China. After the Chinese government killed hundreds of protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989, U.S. officials began restricting the export of products that could be used by Chinese security forces. The restrictions cover a range of low-tech devices, from helmets and handcuffs to fingerprint powder and teargas, but not certain high-tech products, such as the networking equipment that Cisco sells, which can conceivably be used by security forces in ways that violate human rights. Critics contend that by not restricting products such as Cisco's, the U.S. government is not enforcing the full intent of the restrictions. Moreover, they suggest that Cisco could be enabling abuse. For example, its Chinese marketing brochure promotes the equipment's ability to "strengthen police control."
Your task: Write a brief post for the Cisco executive blog that explains the following points: The company rigorously follows all U.S. export regulations; the company's marketing efforts in China are consistent with the way it markets products to other police organizations throughout the world; the products are simply tools, and like all other tools, they can be applied in good or bad ways, and responsible application is the customer's responsibility, not Cisco's; if Cisco didn't sell this equipment to the Chinese government, another company from another country would.42