Thwarted in efforts to keep its promise to stop censoring search on its site in China, on Monday Google pulled the plug on Google.cn. While it has said (on its official blog) that it will "continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence there," and will still operate online maps and music services in China, it is redirecting searchers to its Hong Kong site.
While this certainly isn't good news, for it intimates a worsening business climate in China for U.S. companies and demonstrates how polar Chinese policy continues to be with the West, Google is to be applauded for standing by its principles.
Yes, it is a global powerhouse with a $170+ billion market cap and oodles of cash reserves. And yes, according to the New York Times, China "accounted for a small fraction of Google’s $23.6 billion in global revenue last year." But Google is a publicly-traded company, walking away from the world's largest internet market--with 400 million web users--and its stock price on the NYSE has dropped more than $15 since yesterday.
I doubt it would be completely correct to say that Google doesn't have to answer to anyone; from the Chinese government to the U.S. government to the international business community to Wall Street to millions of web users in China, I bet there are many who aren't exactly thrilled with the company at the moment.
But while many people and organizations, in myriad realms, would kow tow to pressure for financial gains, Google stood its ground on its intent to operate in the way it believes is just, costs be damned. And while I won't pretend to have expert insight into its decision, the ramifications nor the company's future plans, from a layman's perspective, all I can say is:
Bravo, Google. Bravo.
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