Google vs China.

[the_grynne]

Google announces it is no longer willing to self-censor its Chinese search engine and threatens to end its operations in China, after accusing the Chinese government of launching a cyber-attack and hacking into the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Has anybody else been following the drama?

- Links at China Digital Times
- Video

Comments

[calculare]

Bleah. If you want to operate in a specific country, you need to obey the laws of that country. And if the government sanctions certain actions (whatever they may be) then that's it. Google's threats to stop censoring their search engine is no better or worse than one country pressuring another to change the way they do things. *coughdemocracyinIraqcough*

If you believe you are entitled to certain rights, you also have to understand that other people may believe the opposite. And that if you want to continue believing what you believe you have to allow others to believe what they want to believe. Otherwise your actions will imply that other people aren't allowed to believe what they want to believe, in which case you are no longer allowed to believe what you believe by your own actions. Or something.

...I'm not making sense, am I?

I'm sure that "might over right" or "right over might" fits in here, somewhere, but which party belongs to each of those sides, it's impossible to say.

[the_grynne]

Google's threats to stop censoring their search engine is no better or worse than one country pressuring another to change the way they do things. *coughdemocracyinIraqcough*

I'd compare it to a boycott, or an embargo, not outright war, which I think is an important difference. The former being (I feel) relatively acceptable ways for a country, or a corporation, to try and change the activities of another country.

And that if you want to continue believing what you believe you have to allow others to believe what they want to believe.

So why should the Chinese government's belief in controlling the internet access of its citizens interfere with my ability to read Wikipedia or get into my Gmail account whilst I'm within its borders? And is the Chinese government a reliable indicator of what the Chinese people believe?

[calculare]

I disagree (but, I'm the sort of person who views jaywalking as being on par with murder). I think pressure to change is pressure to change, no matter what means you use to enforce it; embargo, blockade, war. Although, yes, the level of physical invasiveness certainly is higher (understatement).

So why should the Chinese government's belief in controlling the internet access of its citizens interfere with my ability to read Wikipedia or get into my Gmail account whilst I'm within its borders?

Because you are within it's borders and so subject to it's laws and regulations; what you're referring to is a legal issue, not a belief issue at that point.

And is the Chinese government a reliable indicator of what the Chinese people believe?Of course not; no government is a reliable indicator of what the people of that country believe. It would hardly be possible to reliably reflect the varied beliefs of an entire population (in large countries, anyway; I suppose if you had a very small population it might work?) in a government that

[calculare]

Ha! Of course it's all over Twitter. :)