Have Google And China Made Up?

China's persistent attempts to get search engine giant Google Inc to dramatically

filter its services in that country, and the latter's equally adamant refusal to do so, has resulted in a somewhat strained relationship between the two sides for quite some time now. Earlier this year that relationship appeared to take a turn for the worse after Google disclosed that its servers had been broken into apparently by China-based hackers. Google claimed that the intruders had attempted to steal e-mail and other information pertaining to Chinese dissidents from its servers. It also claimed that its systems and intellectual property had been tampered with by the same agents operating from China. The dispute came to a head with Google threatening to withdraw from China entirely and China openly hinting that it would not allow Google to renew its license to operate in that country.

Since then though, there appears to have been a rapprochement of sorts, with both sides dramatically turning down the mutual rhetoric and trying to find ways of working together. Despite its threat to withdraw from China, Google for instance, so far has shown little indication that it actually plans on following through. Instead, the company appears to have been quietly working on finding a way to provide unfiltered service in China while also appeasing the country's government. In June, Google announced that it would stop automatically redirecting Chinese users to its search page in Hong Kong as it has been doing up to then. The company announced that it had instead set up a Google landing page for China which contained a link, which when clicked, would redirect users in China, to Google's landing page for Hong Kong.

Google executives claimed that the change would allow the company to continue delivering unfiltered content in China and also fulfill the government's demand that Google not automatically redirect traffic to Hong Kong. In a reciprocal act, the Chinese government in July announced that it was satisfied with Google proposed resolution. In a formal statement, a government official expressed satisfaction with Google's resolution and said that it indicated Google's respect for China's laws and regulations. The official claimed that Google's change would restrict the ability of Chinese citizens to access information that could endanger national security, cause harm to Chinese interests, incite ethnic strife or provide pornography.

Google's willingness to fine-tune its search engine service in China, and the Chinese government's apparent satisfaction with it, could set the stage for improved relations between the two sides going forward. Though it's too soon to say how long the present truce will last, the mere fact that one was arrived at, demonstrates that the two sides have a realistic shot at forging a long-term relationship that serves both their best interests.

Have Google And China Made Up?

By: Peter Simpson

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