Software piracy?
Quote: Although China is a strategically important growth market for many IT vendors, it's not viewed as a particularly lucrative one by software companies due to its eye-wateringly high rates of piracy.
Since the government stance is ignore piracy of items developed outside it's borders (hardware, software, consumer goods, etc.), no one really wants to jump into the market. They would lose before they sold the first product.
However, a home brew OS would have the necessary protections from the government along with enforcement provisions. And the family will get the bill for the bullet. Piracy issue solved.
Yes, I believe they have a right to have their security concerns just as we (US and others) have ours. Espionage, spying, cyberwar... it's all a reality and no one is winning.