Google's Attempted 'Threat to Chinese Sovereignty'
In
threatening to leave China due to censorship and hacking, is Google acting as
an agent of the United States and a representative of American multinationals,
who pose a threat to the sovereignty of all countries they operate in? That is
the position of this article by columnist Li Hongmei of the state-run People's
Daily.
Google,
unlike exclusively commercial firms, long ago went public with its high-profile
corporate motto, "Don't Be Evil." By this self-description, Google
reveals its position as a multinational mature enough to leverage its monopoly
in return for political interests; in other words, to put it charitably, to act
as a social enterprise. That explains why, in an unusually conspicuous move, it
has publicly announced that it might quit China, sparking a wave of reaction here
and abroad, even competing with the massive earthquake in Haiti for media
attention.
What
are the reasons given by the Internet giant?: Chinese censorship and
China-based cyber hacking. But with the initial confusion lifting, the real picture
is slowly coming into view. One question keeps popping up. Is Google's explanation
for leaving really what the company says and what some Western media claim? To
put it another way, is Google really struggling to defend its moral standards,
namely, a free press and an unfettered Internet?
Perhaps
this high-pitched retreat is just a face-saving excuse to abandon operations in
the country with the world's largest online population. Otherwise, Google would
be condemned for ignoring a market of nearly 400 million Internet users that still
has huge untapped potential.
To
be frank, Google can't afford a failure against its main domestic rival,
Baidu.com. According to a report released by the China Internet Network
Information Center, as of September 2009, Baidu's market share in China stood
at 77.2 percent, far ahead of Google.cn's 12.7 percent. In addition, the
majority of Google users in China use its global Web site, Google.com, as their
primary method of accessing information. As a matter of fact, Google.cn's closure
threat has little if any effect on Chinese users.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Back
to China's Internet censorship, that, with Google's threat to leave, is being hyped
by some Western media as a handy way to attack China. In fact, this is merely an
elaborate excuse on the part of Google to flee the China market, lest it further
frustrate investors and shareholders. For one thing, Google entered China after
censorship began, not before. If Google can't put up with the "unfair
restrictions" as it has stated, then why did it wait until now for a
showdown? What's going on behind the scenes?
On
top of its failure to dominate China's market as it expected, Google is engaging
in this strategy of pressure on the mass of Chinese Netizens in order to have its
leverage relayed through users to the Chinese government. And Google's timing is
in tune with the reliability and credibility it has built up among Chinese Netizens.
At present, it feels it has a bargaining chip for seeking compromise with China's
government, as it is no longer a fledgling foreign company scraping its way into
the world's largest market. Now it is a "grownup" anxious to take
sides and flex its muscle.
Which
side should it take? It won't take years for Google to decide, for the simple
reason that as a representative of multinationals, the company is somewhat
irreplaceable and will inevitably be tainted with a political and ideological
brush. That explains why U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently
summoned CEOs of some of the elite information companies to encourage them to
contribute more to the United States, and intentionally inspire them to side
with America, regardless of who they are and what their corporate culture is.
For the sake of U.S. political interests and the "democracy-is-always-best"
mantra, Google stands out for its "threat" against China as a
sovereign state, even going so far as to challenge its judicial sovereignty,
core interests and social system.
To
some extent, the "Google threat" also sounds a warning bell to any sovereign
state over which, from now on, huge U.S. multinationals would seek to wield
their tremendous market clout. These firms pose such a threat anywhere they set
up operations. And multinationals may also be involved in international disputes
and act as tools perfectly suited for political interference.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
When
Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency, he was asked, "What side would
you take if democracy and freedom conflicted with the national interests of the
United States?" Obama adamantly replied that he would choose U.S.
interests.
Returning
back at the famous Google motto, "Do No Evil," people may find this
to be just a cunning but hypocritical promise. "Do No Evil" by no
means demonstrates that you're doing good, and what's more, "good" or
"evil" depend on whose shoes you are standing in.
But
when all is said and done, business is business. Google is not Avatar; it
will not soar into the sky by taming a giant bird and borrowing its wings.
Google needs to be down to earth and face up to reality: Google can tame no
one. If it wants to draw on the advantages of others to boost its own strength,
it must adjust itself to the situation.
Otherwise,
if Google insists on politicizing the situation, it would be hoisted by its own
petard.
