Slashdot Mirror
Google To Suspend Mobile Phone Launch In China
An anonymous reader tips news that Google has decided to delay the launch of two mobile phones in China after the recent censorship conflict with the Chinese government. The phones were developed with Samsung and Motorola, and both of them run Android. A related article in BusinessWeek wonders whether Google's new stance on censorship will halt the progress Android is making in China, the world's largest mobile market. "The country was well on its way to helping Google exploit Android. Chinese handset makers such as Huawei and ZTE have been some of the earliest supporters of the upstart operating system. China Mobile already sells its own version of an Android-based phone system called OPhone. Motorola is making a big push into the Chinese market with smartphones based on the Android OS. And China's Lenovo has developed numerous Android-based products, including the LePhone. Any undue pressure from the establishment would mean that most of these companies would have to abandon Android in favor of other mobile operating environments."
Google is positioning itself so that their only two options will be to tuck their tail between their legs and do China's bidding or pull out and lose all the invested capital. China will not back down they will never let themselves appear weak.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
Google knew well that the decision to pull their search engine out of China would affect their other business interests there. They aren't dumb - they knew it well. Here they gave something up (some access the biggest potential market in the world) in order to stick to their guns. Their mantra is becoming more than just words.
Google should just say sorry China - you get no google anymore.
Although it's hard to say no to market where 100 Million ad impressions is a slow day.
Shameless plug alert: Game server control panel
Missed a step: US invasion and installation of democratic government.
The PRC will certainly be a major player in the years to come, but unless they can work out their human rights abuses and their stance on things like Tibet they're only setting themselves up to pop like the USSR (or worse).
You can't expect to educate AND oppress the plebs at the same time.
Now we can see the first open conflict between private corporation and a government.
Just wait for the first armed one.
You underestimate the importance of MNCs and FDI if you think that this does not make a difference.
Countries clamor for investment from top firms, and go a long way to accommodating them. China may be big, but they are just as dependent on such investments. If it were cut and dry, they would have given Google the finger a long, long time ago.
If enough corporations started doing that, then other developing countries start looking ripe and interesting. It does not take much for a country to go from plum, juicy investment targets to stark and dangerous entities that no one would touch with a ten-foot pole.
Just under ten years ago, the Asian economies were all the rage -- and before that, Latin American countries. China could just as easily be an also-ran if they pushed too hard. After all, even the USSR fell, for all its (supposed) might, and that's in recent memory.
This has not been shown to be the case. I'm sorry, but you can't have it both ways. Does Google put their foot down, or don't they? Do they give into the local laws and help oppress, or don't they? I don't see Google invading China with corporate armies, or hacking Chinese government systems, or subverting Chinese government employees here.
No, but a company is made up of people, and in a democracy, those people have a say in how the country is run, along with every other citizen. Perhaps you don't live in a country with a democratic form of government, or you don't value the freedom of each voice being heard. However, in the United States, we do value these things.
But in the end it still comes down to one question: should Google support China's repressive government, or not? If you condemn them either way, you are a hypocrite. And you'll have to make a really, really good case for "should support repression" as being "not evil".
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
Indeed. This idea works only if everyone is idealistic as me.
/. and not aiming for a Management position; Too many morals.
This is why I'm posting on
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
We're not exactly out of Microsoft's clammy clutches yet.
Not indeed. And I think a most important part of this story is Microsoft shutting up and taking it from the Chinese goverment, happily.
That means that now when you use hotmail, or office live or msn, or any of the Microsoft web properties, there is a chance that not only the NSA and the US courts can access your data, but also unelected and corrupt Chinese officials.
When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
Oh, my! I'm sorry. My terrible pun offended you. Please forgive me. Thank you for pointing out this very insignificant mistake that really has nothing to do with my post. I have learned my lesson, and will never do it again.
interactive hologram, or it didn't happen.
The Chinese have one big advantage over the US: their government doesn't need to lie to anyone.
What? They lie all the time, and do so in grandiose fashion. Just because they openly censor and spy on their own people does not mean that they are an honest regime. In fact, that itself is the problem ... by censoring information, they seek to rewrite history in terms favorable to their propaganda, which is by definition lying.
I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.