China: In the End, Google Will Be Biggest Loser
China responds to Google's decision to leave the Chinese market.
Earlier today, Google announced that it would be offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese via the company's .com.hk branch. Specifically designed for users in Mainland China and delivered via servers in Hong Kong, the announcement signified the end of nearly three months of speculation about Google's threats to leave China.
Shortly after the announcement from Google, China's state news agency, Xinhua, issued a press release criticizing the search giant's decision. The release, titled "Google, don't politicize yourself," challenged Google's "groundless accusations" that the Chinese government supported hacking attempts against the search giant and reiterated earlier statements that Google is politicizing itself.
"Google, as the world's largest search engine, should understand an internationally accepted rule as well as other enterprises, if not better, that no matter in which country you conduct business, you have to obey the laws and regulations there.
In fact, no country allows unrestricted flow on the Internet of pornographic, violent, gambling or superstitious content, or content on government subversion, ethnic separatism, religious extremism, racialism, terrorism and anti-foreign feelings."
The release goes on to say that the Chinese government regulates the Internet according to laws and that that is an internal affair.
"Regrettably, Google's recent behaviors show that the company not just aims at expanding business in China, but is playing an active role in exporting culture, value and ideas. It is unfair for Google to impose its own value and yardsticks on Internet regulation to China, which has its own time-honored tradition, culture and value."
The press release ends with yet another call for Google to not politicize itself and assures that "whether it leaves or not" the Chinese government will not change its Internet regulations.
"One company's ambition to change China's Internet rules and legal system will only prove to be ridiculous," reads the release from Xinhua. "Google should not continue to politicalize itself, as linking its withdrawal to political issues will lose Google's credibility among Chinese netizens. That, will make Google end up to be the biggest loser."
Check out the full release here.
- China ,
- Google ,
- Censorship ,
- Google.com.hk ,
- Google.cn
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Google will end up being the biggest loser here.
Go on Google, show them Chinese **%#$# who the boss is
just ridiculous, the Chinese people are kept dumb for all the things their government wants to keep silent instead of taking responsibility.
And it doesn't happen only there, internet should only be regulated for illegal things like child porn and gambling and some other stuff.
BUT anti-foreign feelings and history (and so on) should be unregulated, if the people would have anti-foreign feelings then do something (positive) about it and don't deny it by keeping it silent...
Wel that can be said for any country icluding the USA
The chinese are kept in the dark and brainwashed about a lot of things. Google is fighting a tough war and I wouldn't be surprised if more "hacking" happens towards google, Intel etc...
This year will be interesting
I think Google's gotten a bit too big for its boots in this particular case.
When you carry out international business you abide by the laws of the countries you operate in, and like it or not, China has strict censorship laws that must be followed.
Now, I fully support Google's decision to withdraw - for reasons of ideology or profitability (or both probably), China is no longer a viable marketplace. The laws dictate they must regulate their service and at the slightest hint of disagreement that country's government allegedly carries out illegal activities to force compliance.
So yeah, going against the founding principles of your company in a country where the government is known to be oppressive and dodgy isn't exactly a good business model.
What I don't agree with, and what Google is going to get hammered for - i.e. sparking an international incident between China and the US - is this "well, you fucked with us so now we'll fuck with you" attitude Google now has by rerouting traffic through Hong Kong into China totally uncensored. This is an intentional act to circumvent China's censorship law and get make sensitive information available to the common populace.
China can, and may well will, say this is subversion, and they'd actually be right - Google is undertaking acts of subversion and digital rebellion against China. And the U.S. as a whole could get pulled into a nasty political situation over this too.
Yes Google, pull out, but pull out and fuck it off - don't be a douchebag and start flooding China with uncensored information or you'll start a fucking war.
Corporations taking on countries? Are we seriously on the first step towards a William Gibson-esque dystopia?
GOOGLE--START A WAR??? Reading a bit to many TOM CLANCY novels while being shut down in the basement drinking coffee all day has you on edge I see. Try decaff and and getting out more.
You forget China controls what goes over the internet into their country. Google may send it from Japan but very little will get through. Your thinking is 1950's ..go to WAR! They don't have to.... today its all about the money, and we owe our soul to China. They do all our manufacturing and they do it "CHEAP". The US owes its very soul to China. So we need there products/cheap labor and they want out money. All China has to do is ask for the money we owe it. Then watch out we will be in REAL trouble.
I don' t think the standoff between Google and the Chinese Government will end soon.
Even tough google threatens to pull out of China, it knows that the market-share there is larger than than that in any individual country, including the US. And China knows this too.
Still i don't think Google is willing to give up this market-share, and the multi-million investments they have in it.