Chinese new year is now here, and happiness is all over the places in China. It’s the time when every Chinese is expected to look back the year passed and long for a fruitful new year. As usual, Google’s wonderful designers drew some nice logos to celebrate this Chinese Tiger year, and also in an internal email sent to Google Chinese staff, Google headquarter were still encouraging its Chinese staff to enjoy their Chinese new year holiday. However, we can not ignore the fact that Google China’s 2009 ended in a dramatic way and the future of Google China is still unclear. Its Chinese staff can not do anything but waiting, as the internal email said, the solution to current situation between the company and China, hopefully, will be given after Chinese New Year.
Leave or stay? Why it takes so long for Google to make a clear final decision? Here are some updates from different resource just for your reference:
1. It is not a “commercial issue” any more. I guess it’s getting more and more obvious according to both governments’ response: Ms. Clinton gave a speech on Internet freedom; All related news disappeared from Chinese main stream media etc. Who are the real driving force, we don’t know. But this issue is much more complicated than we thought, that’s for sure.
2. Although thousands of Google fans in China expressed their sadness on Google’s leaving and support the “Don’t be evil” spirit, but Chinese Googlers (i.e. Google China staff) are definitely not happy with Google headquarter’s decision. “The reason given by the headquarter is crap!”, one Chinese Googler even said that in an internal meeting with the headquarter, we’ve been told.
3. Google said it wanted to negotiate this issue with Chinese government, and this time, it means “Directly”, i.e. the talk is planned to be between Google U.S. and China gov, and seems nothing to do with Google China PR department. But it seems nobody from Google headquarter has sent to China yet.
4. Sergey Brin, one of the co-founders of Google, is the key man behind Google’s threat to leave China. He hosted the first internal meeting and told his Chinese staff that the company will not compromise with Chinese regulation. But it seems that not everyone in Google’s management team agrees with Sergey. Another Google founder, Larry Page, is quiet on this.
Internet is (or reflects) local culture, and everyone should respect it especially when you want money out of it. Google’s logo artists understand it very well. And commerce is commerce, technology is technology, but if they are messed up with something else, we don’t know what it will be ended up with, but one thing for sure, the internet user will not be the beneficiary.
For all those 'disgruntled' Googler China staff, maybe they should look back, and take stock in how woefully miserable its PR / Marketing team performed since day 1 of its operation in China.The fact that Mt. View headquarters decided to negotiate DIRECTLY with PRC authorities only further confirmed such sad fact: THE NOTION OF GOOGLE CHINA PR WAS A JOKE, given how it was controlled throughout by its one time leader, Kaifu Lee.
Google had got tired of fighting with China over censorship. The hacking attacks threw a scare into them and they could not grow in such market conditions as well. The decision announced by google.com to not censor search results in China represents an act of keen defiance. This rift between Google and China definitely hints at challenges ahead which will surely not play in favor of China!The entrepreneurs have turned skeptical on investments in China. The start-ups in China will get affected. The Chinese government will never back down on the censorship issue. If they do, their power will weaken and they will descend.
i agree
i agree
Wonderful tips. I will keep this post handy to send to any who require it. Thanks for your article!
larry page will find a way to make whole things. Google is the largest search engine and they try to keep their staff happy. Hope they will make a way.
Regards Haryana HSSC
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