Google shuts China search engine..sort of

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/dd69e680-2...44feabdc0.html

Google to shut China search engine

By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Kathrin Hille in Beijing

Published: March 12 2010 20:11 | Last updated: March 13 2010 02:16

Google has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its Chinese search engine and is now ?99.9 per cent? certain to go ahead as talks over censorship with the Chinese authorities have reached an apparent impasse, according to a person familiar with the company?s thinking.

In a hardening of positions on both sides, the Chinese government also on Friday threw down a direct public challenge to the US search company, with a warning that it was not prepared to compromise on internet censorship to stop Google leaving...

[sharon sanders]

Re: Google to shut China search engine

I find searching China for ANY disease information is extremely difficult.


China Attacks on Google May Have Hit 100 Companies, ISEC Says

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141953

China orders journalists to retrain in communist theory

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=346330#post346330

Google China Attacks Presage Battle With U.S. to Shape Internet

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138758

[sharon sanders]

Re: Google to shut China search engine

China to stop individual users cn Domain Name Registration

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137679

[Giuseppe]

Re: Google to shut China search engine

I think there are almost two issue in this incident between China and the multinational media corporation.

The first one is a sovereignty issue: an enterprise, a corporation, cannot infringe national laws and rules, because if a precedent should be made for the above company, other will follow and with a wider scope: not only intellectual properties, but biopiracy, soil, water and all other economic well may fall under the superior interest of the company.

The second issue is the freedom of information: this is a basic right of all individuals and for this reason well recognized by UN and a lot of nations all around the world.

The link between the freedom of information rights and the profit-driven interests of a multinational company shouldn't confounded or mixed because they are sometime conflicting.

So, the Chinese government has full right to impose to foreign companies to follow laws and rules, as Chinese citizens have the right to remain informed about things are happening in their country and elsewhere.

This is clearly my opinion and it is not endorsed by this forum or any other individual linked with the above mentioned parties.

I am an Italian citizen.

Currently, in my country a monopoly exists in the field of information: so I know well the risk connected to the ownership of the media: a single, powerful company can squeeze very well the individual and collective right to the free access to informations of all kinds.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Google to shut China search engine

China-Google split 'lose-lose'
AP
Last updated 08:48 17/03/2010

...

Chinese news reports say Google is on the verge of making good on a threat to shutter its China site, Google.cn, because Beijing forces the internet giant to censor search results. The reports indicated that Google had, in fact, already stopped censoring results, but searches Tuesday for sensitive topics like "Tiananmen massacre" appeared to still return only whitewashed results.

...

China's industry minister insisted Friday the company must obey Chinese law, which appears to leave few options other than closing Google.cn, which has about 35 per cent of China's search market.

...

Such a step could have repercussions for major Chinese companies as well as local web surfers. It would deliver a windfall to local rival Baidu, China's major search engine, with 60 per cent of the market.

But other companies rely on Google for search, maps and other services and might be forced to find alternatives.

China Mobile, the world's biggest phone company by subscribers, with 527 million accounts, uses Google for mobile search and maps.

Baidu offers mobile search, but China Mobile passed up a partnership with it earlier after they failed to agree on terms, according to industry analysts. Millions of mobile customers might lose access to Google's Chinese-language map service.

....

Chinese web surfers are blocked from seeing Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and major blog-hosting services abroad and a Google pullout would leave them increasingly isolated.
...

if Beijing turns up internet filters to block access to Google's sites abroad. Its US site has a Chinese-language search engine but is already inaccessible due to government filters.

...
Beijing has steadily tightened controls over internet content and foreign investment in the industry. Video sharing sites must have state-owned media outlets as partners. People in the industry say it is getting harder to register privately financed sites.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/3462190/China-Google-split-lose-lose

[sharon sanders]

Re: Google to shut China search engine

China doesn't need a politicized Google

By Zhang Jiawei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-20 20:15

o
China doesn't need a politicized Google<keyword>

Google,search engine,US,China,Internet</keyword><subtitle></subtitle><introtitle></introtitle><siteid>1</siteid><nodeid>1020262</nodeid><nodename>Government and Policy</nodename><nodesearchname>2@webnews</nodesearchname>/enpproperty--><!--enpcontent-->

Google's actions show that the world's biggest search engine company has abandoned its business principles and instead shows the world a face that is totally politicized.
First, it claims without any evidence that the Chinese government has supported hackers' attacks against it. Then it threatened to pull out of the Chinese market if the government doesn't compromise on Internet regulations. Finally, American politicians and government institutions spoke up to back the company up and show the world a slapstick comedy, said a commentary by Xinhua News Agency.

<table style="font-size: 14px;" border="1"> <tbody></tbody></table> <table style="font-size: 14px;" align="left" bgcolor="#f3f3f3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="244"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <table align="left" bgcolor="#c1cddb" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="231"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="229"> <table bgcolor="#fffde8" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="231"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"> Related readings:
Google in wrong game
Google to exit next month, report says
A peek into Google's global farce
Who will lose if Google leaves?
Google should obey china's laws, netizens say
Hint to Google: Review the road rivals traveled
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>As a hi-tech company famous for its innovation, Google's deviation from the principle that the business world has long been sticking to and its politicized actions make people can't help but doubt whether the firm is still doing business independently and what its backers really want. Having been in operation for four years with a very nice Chinese name, "Guge," Google must know that it should abide by laws and regulations in each country if it wants to do business there. Only by doing this can it become localized and win good market share as well as gain profits.
No country will allow information about subversion, separation, racialism and terrorism to circulate in it through the Internet. Sovereignty and borders also exist in cyberspace, which will need to be watched by each country's laws and regulations.
It is a great pity that the Google case told us the company's aim of entering the Chinese market seems not for commercial reasons but to act as a tool to penetrate into the Chinese culture as well as into Chinese people's values.
Google's relations with the US government cannot be deeper. US media has said Google was the fourth-largest supporter of Barack Obama in his election campaign. Four of the company's former executives including Sumit Agarwal, who was the product manager for Google Mobile team and is currently deputy assistant secretary of defense, are now serving the US government.
American politicians may be glad to see Google being politicized but this is no doubt a tragedy for a famous multinational company which has gained its reputation and advantages by one innovation after another in the Internet field.
How can people believe that the company's search results are without any bias when it lacks independence as well as business ethics?
China's openness to the world is widely seen. China will also make every effort to perfect its regulations on the Internet, but this is the country's internal affair, as it is in other countries.
To stay or to leave, that is Google's decision. China's Internet market with 400 million users can only and will grow stronger.
Maybe Google is preparing to retreat, and maybe it is still hesitating. But one thing is clear: China won't let its regulations or laws bend to any companies' threats.
It is ridiculous and arrogant for an American company to attempt to change China's laws. The country doesn't need a politicized Google or Google's politics.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-03/20/content_9618252.htm

[Shiloh]

Re: Google shuts China search engine..sort of

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/22/tech...dex.htm?hpt=T2

Google leaving China ... sort of
By David Goldman, staff writerMarch 22, 2010: 3:25 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a long-awaited announcement, Google said Monday that it will stop censoring search services on google.cn, its Chinese search site.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) said it is now redirecting its Chinese users to Hong Kong site google.com.hk, which offers uncensored search results, according to its company blog.

"We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement," the company said in its blog post.

The company said it "very much hopes" that the government of China respects its decision, though it is "well aware" that the Chinese authorities could block access to its services for users within the country's borders...