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Google Reported Ready To Leave China April 10
A number of readers including tsj5j and bruleriestdenis wrote to alert us to this CNET story: "Google is expected to announce on Monday that it will withdraw from China on April 10, according to a report in a Beijing-based newspaper that cited an unidentified sales associate who works with the company. 'I have received information saying that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google,' the China Business News quoted the agent as saying. The report also said Google would reveal its plans for its China-based staff that day."
But they will be blocked in China. Remember the motto of the Chinese DNS servers: All your search are belong to us.
I'm a bit worried about workers in China regardless of who they work for.
--Ryvar
This is at least somewhat irresponsible journalism. I mean, obviously Google needs time to consider first, how to deal with China, and second if it comes to it, how to handle it adequately. They should have the opportunity to plan and deliver the bad news themselves rather than some kneejerk reporter trying to make a name for themselves. Imagine how depressing this must be for Google China employees.
Screw you, CNet.
Being physically located in China or not has nothing to do with China blocking them. China could block them if they kept up shop in China, or they could not block them even though they no longer have employees in China.
By removing themselves physically from China they might risk upsetting China (so that they are blocked) but that is not a certainty, and they ensure the physical safety of their employees.
"linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
Google didn't come to this decision because they found their moral compass all of a sudden--otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to play censor for the government in the first place.
Alternatively, like any individual or group, they may have felt, at the time, that they could do some good by operating in China, and then realized, in retrospect, that that simply wasn't the case.
But you're right. It makes way more sense to ascribe sinister, greedy motivations to them. No company can possibly make a mistake...
He was saying they made a mistake, they thought something would be profitable, but it turns out it wasn't worth the effort.
There was no sinister greedy motivations ascribed. Just usual business decisions.
It's less about greed on Google's part and more about the usual cost-benefit analysis of doing business with China's repressive government. Google just stayed until the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.
(insert witty/esoteric/dumb quote here)