Background: Google and the Chinese government have been trading blows the past few days after Google finally decided to stop censoring its search engine in mainland China. Instead, the site Google.cn began redirecting users to the Hong Kong server, which is not censored due to the “one country, two systems” concept. In retaliation, the Chinese government has disabled searches that were found offensive and blocked links in order to restrict what can be seen from mainland computers. Its become an interesting tug-o-war to say the least. I've read and heard reports that many of those at the forefront of the battle on Google's side are young professionals from China.
“We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement.” David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer.
Source: http://www.alligator.org/opinion/editorials/article_944fe796-36ef-11df-8f43-001cc4c002e0.html
Has Google made a mistake? Was the move influenced by the US government's initiative to characterize everything the Chinese government does as "evil" and "wrong"? Is this another instance of the US imposing our ideals on another nation?
Tell us how you REALLY feel about the battle between Google and China. Remember you can remain anonymous!
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