China: Google Broke Promise, Wrong to Stop Censoring
Looks like the Chinese government has settled on a theme for its response to Google’s decision to stop censoring search results in China: Red-in-the-face indignation. In a bulletin issued by state-run news agency Xinhua entitled “China says Google breaks promise, totally wrong to stop censoring,” Beijing slagged the company for betraying its trust.
“Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering its searching service and blaming China in insinuation for alleged hacker attacks,” a government official told the news agency. “This is totally wrong. We’re uncompromisingly opposed to the politicization of commercial issues, and express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conduct….”
According to the official, “We made patient and meticulous explanations on the questions Google raised (in the talks)…telling it we would still welcome its operation and development in China if it was willing to abide by Chinese laws, while it would be its own affair if it was determined to withdraw its service. Foreign companies must abide by Chinese laws and regulations when they operate in China.”
No details yet on what the next phase of the Chinese government’s response to Google’s (GOOG) move will be. My guess is we’ll see the search behemoth’s China Service Availability page light up with red X marks momentarily.