AnalysisGoogle’s decision a rare show of defiance in China
Google’s decision to leave China is a rare show of defiance in a market where the government punishes those who do not play by the rules; in industries from automaking to fast food, companies have been forced to allow communist authorities to influence — and sometimes dictate — their choice of local partners, where to operate, and what products to sell; many high-tech companies operating in China are forced to open their intellectual property and industrial secrets to their Chinese competitors – or to Chinese government officials, who pass on that property to Chinese companies – allowing these Chinese companies to reverse engineer and copy Western companies’ products and solutions; Western companies have struggled to make headway against intense competition from Chinese rivals – rivals who enjoy the fact that the Chinese government writes rules which tilt the playing field in favor of Chinese companies
Google’s plans to pull out of China over the hacking of Gmail accounts by Chinese government’s operatives is a rare display of defiance in a system in which foreign companies have long accepted intrusive controls to gain access to a huge and growing market.
UKPA reports that, dismayed by the prospect of a China without Google, visitors left flowers at its Beijing headquarters Wednesday as Web sites buzzed with words of support and appeals to stay. “I felt it’s a pity and hope it will not withdraw from the Chinese market,” said a man who left flowers at the building in the high-tech Haidian district and would give only his surname, Chang. “Google played a key role in the growth of our generation. The control (of the Internet) is excessive.”
In industries from automaking to fast food, companies have been forced to allow communist authorities to influence — and sometimes dictate — their choice of local partners, where to operate, and what products to sell. Many high-tech companies operating in China are forced to open their intellectual property and industrial secrets to their Chinese competitors – or to Chinese government officials, who deliver that property to Chinese companies – allowing these Chinese companies to reverse engineer and copy Western companies’ products and solutions.
Web companies have endured criticism for cooperating with a communist system that tightly controls information. Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp., and others have acceded to pressure to block access to politically sensitive material.
“The Internet is like media, and the media are under tight government control, so that poses additional challenges for foreign Internet companies compared with, say, manufacturers of TV sets, mobile phones or autos,” said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, an Internet research firm in Beijing.
Google’s decision even to talk publicly was rare in a system where Chinese officials react angrily to criticism. Officials have wide regulatory discretion and companies avoid saying anything that might prompt retaliation.
China’s foreign ministry and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not respond to UKPA’s requests for comment, but the state Xinhua News Agency cited an unidentified official as saying the government was seeking more information from Google.
Comments left on Chinese Internet bulletin boards praised Google’s stance and appealed to the Mountain View, California-based search giant not to leave. “Google is a great soldier of freedom. You don’t bend to the devils,” said a note on the site Tianya.cn. A posting
