Chinese Media Criticizes Google Saying Its Playing Politics
Google is planning to close down its operations in China as early as today. Keeping that in mind, China's state-controlled media criticized Google and accused it of playing politics.
News reports claim that Google China is on the verge of shutting shop as it puts the shutter on its Chinese site, Google.cn, as no compromise formula could be worked out between the government and Google on censor search results. The Xinhua News Agency, which is one of the leading Chinese Daily newspaper and other state media, accused Google setting up a political agenda rather than agreeing with the local laws.
"Business is business. But when it involves political tricks, business will come to an end soon," the China Daily wrote.
This can also be seen as a coordinated government campaign, keeping in mind the tone and timing of the editorial onslaught.
Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a technology market research firm, said an official in the government told him that Chinese newspaper editors were given a notice to launch a campaign against Google. The identity of the official was concealed.
"The key for the government is to have their line reach the public and to placate the public on this," Clark said. "So that's what they're doing with the editorials."
Though, China’s media world is supposedly free but it is regulated and monitored by the Chinese Government.
Meanwhile, has kept its demands that unless the government allows the company to operate a relatively uncensored search engine, Google has the right to shut shop. All this came up after the "Great Firewall" was scrutinized by the government and it found out that via this even citizens can find politically sensitive information and images.
Many Chinese citizens are still in disbelief after coming to know that Google announced it was considering shutdown. It was more of the fact that how Google can quit such a lucrative Chinese market over censorship.
Innumerable blogs from the citizens now ask both the Google authorities and the Chinese government as in what’s happening on the point of negotiations. These letters were free for public viewing and one can also add his/her views to it.
It is like a Right to information and the people are asking what made Google feel so unhappy on the censoring bit and which ministry had caused it to deal on with censorship issues.
Meanwhile, China Daily's editorial, titled "The Biggest Loser," read Google and not China will suffer as it went on writing that it was a good-riddance.
"Google's curtain is falling. But in China's progressing, booming search market of 350 million Web users, a fantastic play has just started," the English-language Global Times newspaper said. "No one can afford to miss it."
Popular Chinese blogger Wen Yunchao was of the view that the negotiations had come a cropper and the government was in no mood to retain Google.cn.
"I don't know the ratio but I am sure a lot of people will agree with these editorials," said Wen. "I know plenty of people who felt this way before the editorials, particularly businesspeople who questioned Google's explanation that this was a moral decision. They believe it was because Google had business problems."
