Google, a private company under political pressure

Comment on "Google pullout threat 'a pressure tactic'" (Jan 14, China Daily)

When I saw Google co-founder Sergey Brin's express his thoughts on the company's presence in China, my first thought was: Are you kidding? How could I find another translation tool and the map? Or are you, Sergey, getting pressure from "Brand America" - the United States' values of political correctness, which hampers you to behave as a free private businessman to think with a business mind?

Google said cyber attacks are the reasons why it may leave China. But a US hearing reminds me of why I am rethinking this case. On Feb 15, 2006, the US House Joint Subcommittee held a congressional hearing named "The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression?", regarding the controversial actions of four US information-technology, multinational corporations in China. And Google, one of four, was accused of its search engine operations in China.

During the hearing, House representative Christopher Smith - chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations - proposed a legislation called the Global Online Freedom Act that would make it illegal for US companies to filter particular political terms in foreign markets, which would greatly impact the American private industry.

Jade Miller, research associate from the University of Southern California, on her research to the hearing, said "the hearing itself along with the threatened legislation are ways for the government to exhibit control over its domestic multinational corporations without actually restraining their economic activities", instead of hard power to control the private industry with legislation.

Hence, the great pressure on Google was not the cyber attacks, but the debates between the government's and the public's concerns on political values, and the economic interest of doing business in a foreign country as a private company.

This soft power hearing, as mentioned by Jade, would "demonstrate the virility of the government to domestic corporations, the domestic public, foreign publics and foreign governments". Google really faced many challenges, but they were from within the US, especially the Congress.

What the Chinese government should think clearly is how to exercise an effective strategy in this well-publicized case and carry out good public diplomacy. It is about China's international image rather than just a purely State-firm debate.

Han Bing

via e-mail

(China Daily 01/21/2010 page8)