THE Lowly Peon

Google & China 
23 March 2010, 10:21am

Well, it finally happened. Google has announced, on the Google blog, that they will be shutting down google.cn and redirecting Chinese mainland traffic to the unfiltered google.com.hk in Hong Kong.

Google announced in January that they were considering leaving China, and have been in talks with the government ever since. Unfortunately, the "Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout [their] discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement".

Businesses in China must renew a license to operate every year in April, so everyone knew that if something happened, it would be soon. Several of my colleagues and friends doubted Google would ever leave China. Making them about $200m a year, out of their whopping $23.6 billion, many people figured the numbers just didn't add up to leave, especially considering that China has the world's fastest growing number of internet users, of which Google has only roughly a third. (Many newspapers claim that Google's users in China are generally more educated and wealthier, and as such the advertisers in China pay far more to use Google than their chief opponent, the government-cooperative Baidu.)

Since Google's announcements, it seems everyone has known that the Chinese government wouldn't bend. A group of stubborn people in love with their power, the government has made decisions in the past arguably because they had to stand firm on the issue so as to not lose face (Dalai Lama negotiations, the undervalued currency). As such, I was not hopeful that one day the government would announce, because of this one company from the arrogant America, that the internet would no longer be filtered.

As of now, google.cn traffic is being redirected to google.com.hk. Right here in my living room, I can see pictures of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, articles speaking out against the one party government, and even links to porn sites. It's strange having unfiltered Google results (though to be clear, the sites are still blocked; it's just that Google's search results still show the information that's out there).

But the Chinese government doesn't like to lose face, and if anything has happened here, it's that the Chinese government has lost face.

Only time will tell, and I don't think it will be much time, if things will stay this way. I expect the government, in a fit of child-like rage, will run upstairs and slam their bedroom door closed. They're without any doubt in my mind going to block google.com, google.com.hk, and any other search sites provided by Google. What scares me, though, is what else they'll block.

Gmail is generally accessed by going to gmail.com — but have you ever noticed the URL when you're using gmail? It's mail.google.com. Let me make this more obvious: it's mail.google.com.

Google maps, which have become excellent here in Hangzhou, and not only a useful tool, but one that I've come to rely on. The URL? maps.google.com.

I also frequently use Google Voice, Google Apps, and Google.com.

I told my bosses when I first came here, partially in jest, but with much truth, that the day China blocks Google's services is the day that I leave China. I hope that day does not come soon. Daisy, let's get your visa ASAP.

update
[25 March 2010, 6:53am]