Google China Update
Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by Robin in [Inter]national
It has been nearly three months since web kingpin Google announced that it would stop censoring its website’s search results in China. The move came after the Gmail accounts of several Chinese human-rights activists were hacked, supposedly the work of the Chinese government. Google had thrown down the gauntlet, and the world waited with baited breath to see what would happen next.
Then, for more than ten weeks, nothing. No end to censored search results, no announcement of Google ending its operations in China. While everyone in the online business world was busy debating the consequences of such action, the action never took place. For a while, it seemed that the almighty dollar had won out again.
But lo and behold on March 22, Google shut down google.cn. But it had not given in to the Chinese government; all users trying to access the website were redirected to Google Hong Kong. This means that Chinese users can access uncensored search results in simplified Chinese. An image search for “Tiananmen Square massacre 1989” at google.com.hk shows that famous picture of an anonymous student standing in front of four military tanks, a picture that was missing from Google China’s results. However, websites resulting from newly-uncensored searches might still be blocked by China’s firewalls.
It’s not yet clear what China’s government will do in this situation. A blackout in Google Hong Kong’s services at the end of March led some observers to conclude that China had blocked access to the website. It turned out to be just a glitch, but it remains to be seen whether China will block the site permanently. “[W]hile Google’s decision may be good for the company, it may actually harm the causes of human rights and free expression,” writes Steve DelBianco of Forbes Magazine. “As most China experts understand, publicly attacking the Chinese government as Google did–in a foreign language, no less–will only harden the government’s resolve.”
But for the time being, Google shows no signs of backing down. According to a page the company has set up to keep tabs on mainland China service availability, the company’s web search, images, news, ads, and email are all either fully accessible or subject to small-scale blocking. The situation might also allow other websites access to China. Citing local media reports, Chinese-language web portal wrote that Facebook is looking to establish a presence in China by the end of the year. The country represents one of the fastest-growing online markets in the world, and an attractive opportunity to all web-based companies.
