Google has thrown down the gauntlet to China, and potentially this could reshape the world.
In a blog post, Google chief legal officer David Drummond announced that Google will no longer censor Google Search, Google News, and Google Images on Google.cn. Users will instead be directed to the Hong Kong site. Drummond writes: "Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard. 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. We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced-it's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China."
To protect its Chinese employees, Drummond said that all decisions on censorship had been made in the USA, and not inside China.
So will this flow through to other companies? MarketWatch reports that a survey released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China on Monday indicated that an increasing number of U.S. firms are being made to feel unwelcome. "There are questions about the durability of Google's new position, and whether we've reached a tipping point in terms of western firms and their ability to navigate the political shoals of doing business in China," said Jacqueline Newmyer, president of Long Term Strategy Group, a Cambridge, Mass.-based defense research firm told MarketWatch.
Western companies are watching China closely with Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu now on trial, behind closed doors, in China for bribery. Could this be the beginning of a trend?
As columnist John Lee says, China is now taking a harder line with foreign companies. "The episode hints at what could be a broader development – the regulatory, protectionist and political environment in China is becoming increasingly difficult for foreign companies. A number of memos and articles indicate that many CCP officials believe that the Chinese economy is less reliant on foreign companies – resource companies an exception – to help it develop and modernise than it once was. Foreign companies are increasingly complaining about rising Chinese protectionism, lack of market access and even the absence of token efforts by officials to protect intellectual property rights. Many executives sense that there is now less emphasis on promoting the attractiveness of 'brand China' to foreign companies. If so, foreign companies who have been at the forefront of advocating closer political and economic engagement with China in order to get a slice of the pie could soon change their tune."
If he is right, Google's challenge might be the first of many.
no comment untill now