

Did Google just bail on their China bluff? Discuss. - nroach
http://nathanroach.com/google-ceo-bails-on-china-bluff

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nroach
More detail ...

WSJ: <http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100121-717467.html>

It looks increasingly like the Google threat to pull out of China or stop
censoring results was nothing more than a bluff: one they were destined to
lose. The Chinese government isn't known for caving to public opinion or
threats that don't have a very big stick in the background. Frankly, it seems
naive for Google to think it could change that stance.

If Google will "continue to follow their laws" and "continue to offer censored
results", that seems like a whole like folding when your bluff is called.

As to Google's line in the sand? In a "reasonably short time from now" they
will "be making some changes there". That's a loophole wide enough to swallow
the great wall.

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nostrademons
Umm, from the article (which is paywalled, but if you paste the title into
Google you can get around that):

"We continue to follow their laws, we continue to offer censored results, but
at a reasonably short time from now we will be making some changes there."

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josh33
Google is not going to de-censor search results in China. China doesn't back
down from the private sector and Google knows that the sheer volume of people
in China will result in positive cash flow regardless of the results
censorships. They have no financial motivation to face up to the empire and as
buzz dies down they'll have little political/social threat either.

~~~
codexon
_Google is not going to de-censor search results in China_

They already did.

[http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-
CN&resnum=0&q=t...](http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-
CN&resnum=0&q=tiananmen%20square%20massacre&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)

~~~
est
It's funny because all westerners are trying to unit test google.cn censorship
using a keyword Chinese never use :)

I don't want to start a offtopic thread on HN, but just FYI:

1\. Tian an men is with a lot of other meanings

2\. The 'tianamnen massacre' known to the west has different names or
referrals in China, the most common phrase is '1989 student movement'

3\. The actual massacre didn't happen in Tiananmen, but in the city outer
borders when the army are try to enter the city and encounters the road blocks
setup by citizens and students.

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johnl
Bringing the matter to the public's attention is sufficient in my opinion.
Google pulling out would only leave a vacant spaced filled probably with
another company more willing to be controlled. So I would rather Google stay
and keep taking it's lumps all the while providing us with the feedback.

