China: Google’s possible exile leads to cyber protests; Netizens on move · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Do no evil, Google says. But the irony is that it did help the Chinese government block sensitive information from the Chinese internet users, which is necessary for it to operate in China. However, this time it seems to be really provoked and made its simmering feud with the authority public. Google is likely to quit China.
The post on Google blog states the Google China has been suffering from cyber attacks and also, the information of its clients, many of them human rights advocates, were accessed by third party.
What is more well-known is its self-censorship. For example, typing in words such as Tainanmen in Google.cn will never return you pictures or texts about the 1989 incident.
So, when last night Google announced it would lift the censorship, the Chinese internet users flooded to the website to search for all the sensitive terms they never had a chance to access. In twitters, forums, discussion boards, we witness an explosion of talks about Google and its possible departure, or exile, from China.
On Twitter,  pzhtx said,
Google热榜中“天安门”上升到第一了，中国网民在送Google最后一程
People were mourning that they are now restricted inside the largest LAN network in the world, which is encircled by the strict censorship and the Great Firewall
.
A tweet is madly circulated on the internet:
Facebook的原罪是它能让人认识想认识的人，Twitter的原罪是它能让人说出想说的话，Google的原罪是它能让人找到想找到的东西，Youtube的原罪是它能让人看到想看到的东西……所以它们都被干掉了
The sin of facebook is that it helps people know who they wanna know. The sin of Twitter is that it allows people to say what they wanna say. The sin of Google is that it lets people find what they wanna find, and Youtube let us see what we wanna see. So, they are all kicked away.
It directly affects millions of netizens, because since Google’s expansion in China, its search engine, Gmail, and Google Doc have been widely used. A netizen in Xiaonei, which is a social network website popular among young people, was panic:
陆铠 :早上看到新闻说“谷歌将退出中国市场”……吓醒了……我的Gmail，我的Google docs，我的谷歌咨询，我的互联网
These days are uncommon for Chinese cyberspace. Baidu has just been hacked by self-alleged Iranian hackers, which prompted a cyber war. As a Chinese local search engine with the largest market share, Baidu is often compared with Google. Its reputation is blackened because of its stronger censorship and the fact that it has removed search returns about poisonous milk after taking money from the producers.
王子健 :百度该不知道的都不知道，谷歌不该知道的都知道，他知道的太多了…
Google is highly praised among internet users:
樊春晓→槑 :谷歌退出中国市场？！谷歌有骨气，谴责xx一个，没有民主的地方，谷歌情愿退出，道义、金钱，什么更重要？我收回以前说老外没文化的话，现在他们为我们诠释了什么叫舍身取义，XX，看看现在的中国人，祖宗的美德一点都没留下，枉为华夏子孙
A sarcastic price of words is getting quite popular around the cyberspace.
90后：今天我翻墙，看到一个国外网站叫Google的，妈的全是抄袭百度的。00后：翻墙是什么？ 10后：网站是什么？ 20后：国外是什么？
People born in 90s: Today I stepped out of the Great Firewall and saw a foreign website named Google. Shit, it is all but a copy of Baidu.
Born in 00s: What do you mean by stepping out of Great Firewall?
Born in 10s: What do you mean by website?
Born in 20s:  What is ‘foreign’?
唐鹏 :我党威武，我天朝万岁！！谷歌终于要“自愿”退出中国市场了！！！
People soon make up how the state-run media CCTV might comment on the incident
cctv新闻稿：近日谷歌公司由于黄色搜索，侵犯中国作家著作权等问题，遭到了中国网民的普遍抵制。由于业绩下滑严重，考虑退出中国市场。这又是一次中国网民抵制外国不良网络服务商的成功案例！
Right now, a campaign to put flowers to the Google offices in China is gaining momentum on the internet. It is thought to be a way to memorize Google and express the grief and anger against censorship. In front of the Google Beijing office, people have started to take action for a flower commemoration.
Categories

Regions

East AsiaChina



Topics

Breaking NewsDigital ActivismEconomics & BusinessFreedom of SpeechMedia & JournalismProtestTechnology







Written byBob Chen
Global Voices stands out as one of the earliest and strongest examples of how media committed to building community and defending human rights can positively influence how people experience events happening beyond their own communities and national borders.
Donate now