As reported by many news sites already, China has decided to reject the proposed standard format of Microsoft in ISO. China is a "P", principal, member of ISO, so its vote is an important one. And this is not taking in care what China represents for Asia and the whole world, and the reference that could represent for other countries.
It seems that OOXML has found a strong resistance among academics and local software enterprises that see it wrong adapted to the Chinese culture or indeed a competitor to the local economic interests. Facts as that OOXML is not able to represent URLs in Chinese characters (neither in any other non ANSI character), or facts as the Anglo-Saxon bias of the specification, or the use of only the centuries ago deprecated "Julian" calendar used by the Romans, makes it not suitable for many international markets as the Oriental ones, and specially the proud, old and savvy China.
Of course, Microsoft is making strong efforts to avoid that "no", as to launch a quick development of a "BSD"(!) licensed translator between OOXML and UOF. UOF is the Chinese proposed standard format for office documents that finally could merge with ODF, the only ISO recognized of all existing office document formats (PDF/A and PDF/X apart).
What is more interesting is that Microsoft is failing mostly in the big economical countries, getting the YES from some small ones with, usually, not so fair tactics. It did in USA already, and now China. Japan and India will follow surely and Canada, UK and Germany were among the countries that asked not to reach this DIS fast track stage in the ISO process because the many problems unveiled on the proposed OOXML specification, the extremely (and unnecessarily) complex and big proposal, and the contradiction with many preexisting ISO standards.
