Students in China joked that they might as well download all the Internet Information they needed after hearing that there is a possibility that Google might not be around much longer in the country. China is facing a possible loss is Google accessories such as maps, translation services, software, and many more vital needs that business need to operate.
Google has stirred up much debate on the constraints of free speech to political stability. The message is loud and clear, Google is taking a shot at the structure of the chinese government. The loss of Google would be colossal. Although Google is not currently the top search engine in China, it is estimated that 80 million people are comparatively better educated and wealthier.
While many believe that the possible exit of Google will be short lived, there is speculation that this could be another step in challenging the Communist approach in their government in that people might question what is wrong with their country that it doesn't let me search Google. Many believe that if Google leaves, the Chinese government has gone too far.
I agree with the statement "if Google leaves, the Chinese government has gone too far". The Chinese government has already blocked Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia(it is unblocked now), and it seems that Google will be the nest one. However, in some Chinese forums many people still believe that Google will never leave China as it claimed and what Google do now is simply threatening the Chinese government for more interests.
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me that Chinese residents cannot gain access to some of the most popular websites, such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. I am aware that the Chinese government imposed strict censorship on certain online information, but I did not think the issue was so serious to the extent that the government would block people's access to Google and the aforementioned websites.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I heard from somewhere that people living in China had limited access to particular online news website (Economist.com). Could you let me know whether this is true?
One point that I'd like to make clear is that even if Google quits China in the future, people in China are still able to use Google as a search engine.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, there are two ways to get to google in China: google.cn and google.com. Google.cn is the site Google created in China and it claims to better serve the people in China.
Exiting Chinese market means Google will cancel google.cn and move its offices and research projects out of China. However, people in China can still use Google and most of its functions by going to google.com.
As for limited access to particular online news websites, I'm sad to say yes, it is true. People in China still have access to most articles, but for those that are "politically sentative", access may be blocked.
Why does Google feel like they need to make a statement to the Chinese Government? I feel like the Government will do what ever they want and have some other website replace the services that Google provided. On one hand I do agree that it is pretty unfortunate that people in China can’t access certain websites but it sounds like people find a way around it anyway. An unexpected upside that might take place is that if Google leaves it might provide other internet sites the opportunity to grow and compete with Google.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Google is making a wise decision by threatening the Chinese government that it is going to leave. As stated in the previous comment, some other internet site will get the oppurtunity to grow which might decrease the monopoly power Google has right now. When multi-nationals produce goods or services in different countries, they have to comply with certain government regulations. Hence if Google does not comply with the Chinese regulations and pulls out off China its going to lose a huge amount of customers.
ReplyDeleteTo answer some questions in previous comments - -YouTube is blocked and has been for quite a while so no one is missing it.
ReplyDelete-Facebook was available and is now, the only time it was blocked for very long was during the riots in the west this summer (Facebook was not even available through the special access and shortcuts I had while working in the U.S. Embassy - which is VERY shocking and intense.
- Hairong is correct - google.com will still be available for anyone that has a decent international internet connection. However, just as most article showing up in English on google.com, people will loose google.cn's benefit of having mostly articles appearing in Chinese.
-News websites are not blocked unless you look for articles on certain sensitive topics - Tibet, falongong, Liu XiaoBo, etc.
- China has almost always had an extensive and seemingly intrusive censorship. It is often referred to as The Great FireWall.
- Also, this past summer, politicians, technology officials, and even some officers in the Dept. of Commerce at the Beijing Embassy met to fight China over 'The Green Dam'. This was a program to be mandatory in all new computers sold or used by anyone in China. It was built into the hard drive enough to make it impossible to remove without destroying vital parts. This system would route information to a collector manned by the Chinese government. It would track everything - internet, documents, passwords, EVERYTHING.
Fortunately, combined efforts from several countries succeeded in preventing China from implementing the Green Dam. However, even the head technology officer at the Dept. of Commerce of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing offhandedly told me that - of course, it is only a matter of time before they pass [the Green Dam].
Also – if you all are interested in the extensive censoring in China, look for articles about how the Chinese government is now censoring text messages. The phone company, most popular being China mobile, will track for key words deemed inappropriate. If these words appear, the company will shut down and block text messages to and from that number for a period of time.
With the trend of economic globalization, Google’s decision of withdrawing from China is an unwise strategy; there are multiple competent on-line search tools are coveting the market of China.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this news also makes me think of the necessity of my country’s government amending a set of more sound policies, which would significantly influence the development pace of my country in that, today, to any country, information is the key to open the door of the world. And, Google, as a worldwide popular on-line search tool/corporation, must have its own strong reasons(as mentioned in the linked article) to make such an important decision. Therefore, I look forward to an effective negotiation between China’s government and Google.
-Babuck: "The Green Dam" is not a hardware but a software that is recommanded to be installed on all the computers sold in China. The software can be easily removed if customers don't need it. The primary aim is to block contents include pornography and extreme violence that would have a bad influence on children. The software can be mandated by parents, like a parental control software in the US. But it raises a lot of oppositions because people oppose that it might control the liberty of speech. The US government also track all the emails and phone calls. It's related to national security, so there is nothing wrong in that.
ReplyDelete