5 posts and columns on Qin Gang

Beijing on Google’s China Move: Hong Kong Phooey

in News on March 23, 2010 at 9:44 am PT

Following its initial red-in-the-face tirade, the Chinese government has adopted a more measured tone in its comments about Google’s closure of Google.cn and the redirection of users to another site in Hong Kong. “It’s not China that has undermined its image, rather it is Google itself,” a foreign ministry spokesman said of the company’s move this morning.

Google to Resume Talks With China–Not That China Is Listening

in News on February 23, 2010 at 6:02 am PT

With the Chinese New Year holiday over, Google is resuming talks with Beijing about the future of its operations in China. People briefed on the matter tell The Wall Street Journal that Google’s state policy head, Ross LaJeunesse, has been charged with convincing Chinese officials that the company should be allowed to operate an unfiltered search engine in the country in violation of its laws.

New Chinese Version of Google SafeSearch Eliminates Google Entirely

in News on June 25, 2009 at 5:30 am PT

Google’s mission, to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible, has once again run afoul of the Chinese government, which has a similar goal, but would much prefer that certain information stay inaccessible. And so, on Wednesday evening, Chinese citizens found themselves once again unable to use Google, Gmail, and YouTube as their government condemned Google as a purveyor of porn.

Millions of Chinese Twitter Users Suddenly Unaware That I Dislike Ramen

in News on June 2, 2009 at 10:19 am PT

If China wants to correct the “false impression” that it fears the Internet, ending its repressive and paranoid blocking of Web services would be a good place to start. This morning Beijing extended the Great Firewall of China, restricting Internet access to Twitter, Flickr, Hotmail and Bing, among others.
twitter-bird-dead

China to YouTube: YouBlocked

in News on March 24, 2009 at 12:09 pm PT

China’s access to YouTube, which has been intermittent at best, ceased entirely late Monday, apparently choked off by the country’s legendary Internet filtering system. There’s no formal explanation yet for the block, though it may be in response to a seven-minute video posted to YouTube last week showing Chinese soldiers brutally beating Tibetans last March after the riots in Lhasa. China, after all, isn’t renowned for its tolerance of free expression or dissident speech.
China Web Police