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Google To Restart Talks With China
eldavojohn writes "Following the infamous attacks allegedly carried out by the Chinese government, Google sent a strongly worded message to China. However, despite the show of plumage, Google.cn continues to operate filtered. While both parties are silent about any resolution, Google and China have planned to restart talks and negotiations over Google operating unfiltered in China. (If you have a subscription, you can read about the story from its original source, the Wall Street Journal.) The print edition of the WSJ names Google policy executive Ross LaJeunesse as their representative meeting with Chinese officials. Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, has officially rejected the claim that the attacks were sanctioned by the Chinese government. He said, 'Google's statement from January 12 is groundless, and we are firmly opposed to it. China administers its internet according to law, and this position will not change. China prohibits hacking and will crack down on hacking according to law.'"
Is Google a country? Did I miss something?
And exactly what "laws" is Google breaking in China?
Why isn't this ever worth noting?
Show a little spine and turn the damn filters off.
China doesn't need google. Why should they bother? They have Baidu and it's in their best interest for this market in China to be owned by a Chinese company.
I'm just not seeing how Google has any kind of negotiating position here.
Okay, let's face it, China is THE rising power this century. Thanks to the mistakes of a previous administration, the U.S. will be surpassed sometime in the 2020s (not the 2050s as was previously predicted). If you're Republican you can pick Clinton, if you're Democrat you can pick Bush. (On the other hand, if you believe in reality, I think the choice is obvious).
But I digress. Despite all the bad things that the U.S. has said and done and been blamed for, I think it is obvious that it is still a much more benevolent world power than China has shown itself to be. Consider Tibet, North Korea, Ulighars, Global Warming, dissidents, Iran, Africa etc. etc. Let's face it, China only cares about itself and only about keeping the ruling party in power (and rich). They may not be actively supporting "evil" in the world but they sure don't go out of their way to fight against it.
Frankly, there's not too much that'll stop this from happening. But it's better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. So, please, ask yourself when you have a choice, do you want to support China? If there is another product that's just a little more expensive from another country, please consider buying it. If you can get a return on investment that's just a little less than investing in China consider changing your investments (I did a couple of years ago).
You'll sleep better because of it.
Google has started wielding their fists in China. They've been trying to operate unfiltered, they shut the filters off briefly in this debacle, they've started drawing bad publicity on China and threatening to just walk away. Their behavior has forced some other Chinese-operated search engines to back off on censorship, and forced the Chinese government to ease up a little. They seem to be tired of waiting calmly for negotiations to turn favorable, so they've taken to slugging the other guy in the face when he doesn't give ground fast enough.
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Let's face it -- Google's not pulling out of China because the market is too big and China's not going to back down on filtering. The way I see this playing out is a deal where Google is allowed to operate unfiltered on their end, however the Chinese government places in-line content filters down stream from Google, between their network and the rest of country. This way the content still gets blocked, but Google can say "its not our fault."
Try going to Shanghai where they are expected to double the 4000 skyscrapers they already have there in the next 15 years. (Manhattan only has 2000).
Or go to Guangzhou where a sleepy fishing village 20 years ago is now a mega city with buildings stretching to the horizon.
Consider that China is building 42 high speed rail lines (in addition to the world's only maglev). How many does the U.S. have? Zero.
Or think to the future, already the world's largest solar panel manufacturer, China will soon overtake the U.S. in wind power. (It blows the world away in new nuclear power plants).
If one includes the Chinese studying overseas, one could make a credible case that it already has caught up to the U.S. in cutting edge technology.
How someone who readily admits not being an expert could get a +5 insightful shows how ethno-centric Slashdot is. China was called "the sleeping giant" by Napolean. Now while it has awoken, it is another country that has fallen asleep.