LoongArch
Sun, 21 Dec 2025
I recently saw the news that LoongArch64 is becoming officially supported in Debian. For those of us who have been around the free software block a few times, the name "Loongson" brings back memories of the Lemote Yeeloong - that small, underpowered netbook that RMS used for years because it was the only laptop that could run with a 100% free BIOS.
Naturally, this got me wondering: Does the new Loongson 3A6000 hardware represent a return to that? I dug into the technical details of the Morefine M700S Mini PC and the XC-LS3A6M motherboard to learn more.
On the surface, things look promising. Loongson has moved to what they call the "New World" ecosystem, pushing code upstream. That's a good step. But when you look at the firmware and hardware initialization - the places where user control goes to die on modern Intel and AMD systems - the story is disappointing.
The 3A6000 systems use UEFI based on TianoCore EDK2. EDK2 is free software, which sounds great until you realize it's just a wrapper. Deep inside lies a binary blob provided by Loongson that initializes the memory controller (DDR4 training), the PCIe bus, and the HyperTransport link.
Without this non-free blob, the machine doesn't boot. It's the same "FSP" (Firmware Support Package) problem we have with modern Intel chips. You can have all the free UEFI code you want, but if the hardware doesn't turn on without a black box of proprietary junk, you're not really in control of the software.
It gets worse when you try actually to use the computer. The integrated GPU in the 7A2000 bridge chip isn't documented well enough to write a free driver for it. The kernel driver relies on a firmware blob. In terms of WiFi, the Morefine M700S comes with a Realtek chipset that requires proprietary junk to do anything. The one nice thing is that it can be swapped out for something else.
Then there's the "Security" Element. Just like Intel has the Management Engine (ME) and AMD has the Platform Security Processor (PSP), Loongson has added a "Security Element" (SE). It runs proprietary firmware to manage encryption and Secure Boot. While it might not have an active network stack like Intel AMT, it's still a computer inside your computer that you can't control.
There's a distinction often lost in these discussions: the difference between national sovereignty and user freedom. Loongson gives China "technological sovereignty" as they call it - independence from US export controls. That's a strategic win for them. But for you and me - the users sitting at the keyboard - it trades one master for another. We aren't looking for a "sovereign" computer; we're looking for a computer that only runs free software. A computer that obeys us, not someone else.
It's sad to see Loongson, a company that once powered the flagship laptop of the free software movement, go down the same path as Intel and AMD. The 3A6000 is a modern, high-performance chip, but if you're looking for a system that respects your freedom, these aren't the ones. It's more of the same proprietary restrictions, just with a different instruction set.