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Google Reported Ready To Leave China April 10

Posted by kdawson on from the so-he-says dept.

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."

43 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. hmm... by Pojut · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ..it will be interesting to see what kind of repercussions google's employees living in China might have to face. This may sound weird, but I'm a bit worried for their workers over there...

    --
    Living With a Nerd
    1. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, they're not so bad. I mean, c'mon! China's so damn generous with their transplantable organs, how bad could they possibly be?

    2. Re:hmm... by Ryvar · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm a bit worried about workers in China regardless of who they work for.

      --Ryvar

    3. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who wants to raise funds to send this guy there?

    4. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Speaking as someone with ties to the Chinese government, I can confirm that they will be murdered.

    5. Re:hmm... by cyfer2000 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I heard their key employees have already been hired by Baidu, MS and Alibaba several weeks ago. Google.cn had to hire new people two weeks ago to keep the company running. And top three managers of google.cn decided to start their own search business.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
    6. Re:hmm... by Runaway1956 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This makes me happy. Not that it's Google, specifically, but I'm happy to see any company pull out of China. Wake up, world. Globalization is not the way forward.
      Wait until Google is actually gone. See what happens to anything and everything that is either left behind, or has already been pilfered, copied, cracked, or whatever. China respects no "intellectual" property, whatsoever. All the property of Google in China is actually the property of China - intellectual, or otherwise.

      Expect Choogle to come online by the end of April, in direct competition with Google.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    7. Re:hmm... by cyfer2000 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Official language at Taiwan is mandarin, and the language called Taiwanese is the same dialect used in south of Fujian province. So the most part of spoken language is ok. The writing system is the problem. Taiwan use traditional character set, and mainland China use simplified character set.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
    8. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      GP is justified in his concern. Over a tiff over Australian-Chinese ore trade, China arrested four employees from the Australian firm Rio. Australian officials are banned from the proceedings.

      See:
      http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62I18V20100319

    9. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      And as a real AC, I make air cooler.

    10. Re:hmm... by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      If all of this was happening in Japan, the upcoming search engine would be called Moogle.

    11. Re:hmm... by homer_s · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Globalization is not the way forward.

      Are you also against inter-state trade? Why not? If trade between 2 ppl in different countries is bad (that is what globalization is), why is trade between 2 ppl in 2 different state here is ok?

      Wealth is created by division of labour aka trade - it doesn't matter if the 2 people trading are standing on either side of an imaginary line or not.

    12. Re:hmm... by CherniyVolk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Are you also against inter-state trade? Why not? If trade between 2 ppl in different countries is bad (that is what globalization is), why is trade between 2 ppl in 2 different state here is ok?

      Did you not notice you used the word "trade"? Did you not actually "trade" with your friends as a child? Google opening shop in China is in no way "trade", not even similar concept no matter how you look at it.

      How weird it must be, instead of saying "Hey John, I'll trade you my apple for your fruit cup." with "Hey John, let me live with you in your room, under governance of your mom and dad so I can get a fruit cup too. Alice, Bob, Jack and I will form a committee to arbitrate a 'agreement' between us, so you have to let me live in your house with you. Oh, and btw, I don't agree with your posters on the wall, you have to change them from Porsche's to Lamborghini's and that super model chick you have has mutilated her body which is against my principles so we'll have to bring legal action against you and question your compliance to the way I think things should be."

    13. Re:hmm... by Bearhouse · · Score: 2, Informative

      Expect Choogle to come online by the end of April, in direct competition with Google.

      Well, it already exists; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu

      The only problem is, a lot of people in China find Google better for some purposes, (including party members, according to a report I heard).

      You'd better believe that if the Chinese Gov did not want Google to stay, they would have already thrown them out...

    14. Re:hmm... by blackraven14250 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What's funny is that in another post, they mention numbers of higher-ups from Google China already leaving, either to Baidu or to start their own search engines. You're shocked, right?

    15. Re:hmm... by I'm+not+really+here · · Score: 2, Informative

      Baidu = China's #1 search site
      MS = Microsoft (I'm assuming that's who the GP was referring to)
      Alibaba = Wholesale manufacturer search site

      --
      Before commenting on the Bible, please read it first
    16. Re:hmm... by Vendetta · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunately, the Chinese government already has free reign to do what they want, which is exactly why Google is leaving. I don't see it as a catch-22. China isn't going to let Google offer the services in the way that they (Google) want them to be provided. China has already made it clear that Google needs to comply with China's laws, so Google isn't going to be able to offer unfiltered search results and such. So what's the point of them staying if they are forever forced by the government to play by China's rules, and by staying they make themselves look worse in the eyes of the Western world?

  2. It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by eagee · · Score: 4, Funny

    And google is all out of bubble gum.

    1. Re:It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by greenguy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dude, do you know how much money Google has? They never run out of anything.

      --
      What if I do the same thing, and I do get different results?
    2. Re:It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 2, Funny

      The chinese government stole all of their bubble gum. That's why google is so upset.

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
    3. Re:It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by hitchhacker · · Score: 4, Informative

      Way to fuck up the real quote dude.
      "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum" -- Roddy Piper
      The quote from 'They Live'

    4. Re:It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by dave562 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Too bad the Chinese have kung fu and a few millenia of practice in martial warfare. Google has... a bunch of nerds in Silicon Valley hyped up on caffeine.

    5. Re:It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass... by dontbgay · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sooo what you're saying is China doesn't stand a chance?

      --
      Sig not found.
  3. The source is a salesperson by dracocat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why on earth would a salesperson at google be in the know on this one?

    My guess is a memo or something went out saying they would have a meeting on April 10th to discuss things, and the rumor mill starting going full speed inside the department about what it was about.

    I just find it hard to believe that Google's sales department would be let in on too much information.

    1. Re:The source is a salesperson by TSchut · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, if the salesperson is working in China it would be nice for him/her to know he's losing his job on April 10th.

    2. Re:The source is a salesperson by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The sales department sometimes need to know things before other departments. Pushing hard to secure a large deal with an influential customer, only for head office to announce the product is canceled the next day, tends to make your organisation look like a bit of a goose.

    3. Re:The source is a salesperson by SoopahMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

    4. Re:The source is a salesperson by Loconut1389 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      intentional potentially deniable leak to test the waters?

    5. Re:The source is a salesperson by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The sales department sometimes need to know things before other departments.

      I've seen this before. Management is obviously the first to know, and the first department that Management tells is Sales, followed by HR (since HR needs to plan the transition). Marketing finds out next because a guy from HR wants an excuse to talk to all the hot chicks at once, and this news provides that excuse. The information then gradually trickles down through the other departments in a largely uncontrolled way. Finally it occurs to someone to tell IT. "We need to fail over your servers to another country this afternoon because the office is closing. Sorry, should have mentioned it in January. That won't be a problem, will it?"

  4. I'm with Google. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I support Google in this. Censorship is BS and should never be tolerated.

    1. Re:I'm with Google. by HisMother · · Score: 2, Funny

      +1 Funny

      --
      Cantankerous old coot since 1957.
  5. What does it mean to "leave"? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So they close up shop there. They are an INTERNET COMPANY!

    As long as they aren't blocked, they can still serve those users in China. And if they aren't blocked, they can still charge for advertising to non-Chinese customers.

    I asked this before, and everyone said something to the effect of "THERE ARE BILLIONS OF CHINESE" as a reason why Google should stay. But I'm still not seeing it. Google can operate from anywhere. A local presence provides them very little unless they intend to expand some China-specific business/technology, which they haven't done at all (for any country they are currently in for that matter).

    1. Re:What does it mean to "leave"? by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But they will be blocked in China. Remember the motto of the Chinese DNS servers: All your search are belong to us.

    2. Re:What does it mean to "leave"? by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My understanding is that they aren't planning on closing their offices in China, they are merely planning on closing down their chinese search engine. It is the requirement to censor that is really bothering them, and they are not going to do it anymore.

      They still will keep their advertising department open, and whatever other programming they do (it's such a pain to start an office in China that it's not a bad idea to keep a small office there, in case you ever do decide to start doing something there, it won't take six months of bribing people to get all the permits etc).

      --
      Qxe4
    3. Re:What does it mean to "leave"? by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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)
  6. Google's No Freedom Fighter by rutabagaman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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. Like any corporation they were attracted to China by the money and the audience, but after finding out the government was all too willing to help Baidu and hinder Google they re-evaluated their decision. The cyber attack may have been the breaking point, but it may just as well have been a convenient event for Google to justify their standoff with the government.

    --
    (insert witty/esoteric/dumb quote here)
    1. Re:Google's No Freedom Fighter by Abcd1234 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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...

    2. Re:Google's No Freedom Fighter by nedlohs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

    3. Re:Google's No Freedom Fighter by rutabagaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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)
  7. Old Quote by MrTripps · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Remember that old quote about how the Internet interprets censorship as damage and routs around it? That doesn't apply anymore.

    --
    "I'm not a quack, I'm a mad scientist! There's a difference." - Dr. Cockroach
  8. The joyful side of censorship by TiggertheMad · · Score: 3, Funny

    Imagine how depressing this must be for Google China employees.

    No worries, they can't see it. I'm sure it is filtered..

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  9. Re:Apirl? by boarder8925 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I really that would be hilarious.

    --
    Keep your eyes to the sky.
  10. No, that doesn't make any sense. by mosb1000 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Internet search engines are a product, which Google was selling in China. It is trade, and it's nothing like what you've said here. Google has said they won't modify their product to meet China's requirements, China has said "fine, then we don't want 'em" so Google is leaving. Google hasn't done anything wrong, nor have they done anything like what you've described.