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Google should not play with politics

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-29 07:55

Google's threat to withdraw from China has sparked a heated debate, with even the US becoming a party to it. But Google cannot expect that playing with politics will exonerate it from the obligation of following China's laws to do business in the country, says an article on Xinhua.net. Excerpts:

The media are full of news and comments about Google's threat to pull out of China, sparking a heated public debate. But this is not the first time that Google has threatened to close down its Chinese service. Google China was founded in 2005 and launched its Google.cn service in 2006. Within months, the Internet was agog with rumors that it would withdraw from China because of some Internet Cache Protocol license-related problems. Such rumors began doing the rounds again after Google China's founder Kai-fu Lee resigned in September last year.

This time, Google has cited political reasons - Internet censorship - for pulling out. The US reacted to the news by criticizing China's Internet policy and accusing it of cyber warfare.

By being one of the top global brands, Google has, with its withdrawal threat, provided some foreign politicians with enough fodder to fulfill their hidden agenda. People in the West are criticizing China for its Net policy, even though they have similar or even harsher laws and regulations in their own countries.

The US has for long been using the Internet to further its own interests. Ordering Microsoft to close MSN service to some countries is a perfect example of its dubious policy. Even within its own borders, FBI and other intelligence agencies hack into the mailboxes of citizens in the name of fighting terrorism.

Google should know that it cannot force China to accept its unfair terms. Internet security is an indispensable part of national security and China, just like any country, has the right to regulate its Net laws.

A multinational doing business in a country has to respect and follow the law of the land. Resorting to politics will do nothing but hurt the company's image. Therefore, if Google wants to do business in China it has to follow Chinese laws.

(China Daily 01/29/2010 page9)