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The benefits of putting up a fight
By Paul Lin 林保華
Monday, Jan 25, 2010, Page 8
‘The rift between Google and Beijing is characterized by short-term losses
and long-term gains.’
After Internet giant Google stood up to China and announced that it might pull
out of the Chinese market in response to censorship and hacking activities
there, it will be very interesting to see how things develop.
Transnational corporations with investments in China must strike a balance
between ideology and profit — a balancing act that applies especially to Google,
as its services touch on the free flow of information, a freedom that is highly
sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The CCP can tip the balance at any time — even after agreements have been
reached with foreign corporations.
The rift between Google and Beijing is characterized by short-term losses and
long-term gains. The CCP will not back down on restricting information and
Google may therefore have to withdraw from the market.
In the long term, however, this move would be beneficial both to Google’s
commercial interests and to reform in China. In negotiating with the Chinese
government, then, Google may make some compromises, but if it compromises too
much, it will not achieve what it hopes to.
The dispute is significant for a number of reasons.
First, on the day Google announced that it would stop censoring its services in
China, and before the CCP had time to issue any orders on the matter, the
overall reaction across Chinese society was positive. Even the response from the
Global Times, a subsidiary of the People’s Daily that represents the opinions of
military hawks in China, was rather mild. The publication issued a series of
statements only after “senior officials” gave orders to do so.
These comments were less boisterous and arrogant than statements issued directly
by the CCP, however.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said that regardless of what decision Google makes,
trade relations between the US and China would remain unaffected. Perhaps this
reflects the CCP’s feelings of guilt over the Google affair.
Second, once Google stopped censoring its Chinese search engine, Web users in
China no longer had to jump over firewalls to access “sensitive” information
that the CCP has kept a lid on for decades — the Tiananmen Square Massacre and
the persecution of Falun Gong, for example.
The world beyond the firewalls is of great interest to Chinese netizens. After
glimpsing this world, they will direct their anger at the CCP, which blocks
access to it. They will also wonder what else the CCP has kept hidden.
Third, China has 360 million Internet users, or one-quarter of the country’s
total population. If even one-tenth of them were enraged and humiliated by the
CCP’s stopping them from accessing this information, that represents a force
that could threaten the CCP regime. This is precisely why the CCP controls the
Internet so strictly.
The contempt of Chinese netizens for corrupt officials and the strong support
they have shown for Yang Jia (楊佳), a man who killed police officers in revenge
for maltreatment, and Deng Yujiao (鄧玉嬌), a woman who stabbed a government
official to death after she was unable to fight off his sexual advances at her
workplace, worries and frightens the CCP.
Fourth, Google is not alone in its experience. Hackers supported by Chinese
officials have attacked government Web sites around the world and stolen
confidential information, resulting in widespread anger directed at China.
While China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that this is the case, we must
ask why the Chinese government cannot arrest the hackers but can arrest online
dissidents. The reason is simple — the CCP supports these hackers with vast
amounts of funding.
Fifth, if China’s Internet users had the freedom to choose, they would opt for
Google over the “official” Chinese search engine Baidu (百度) because Google can
give them access to more information. This is the source of Google’s leverage.
Despite the company’s current difficulties, it has established itself as a brand
that is trustworthy and capable of providing more information than any other
search engine. It is only a matter of time before Google is rewarded for its
hard work.
Finally, foreign investors in China must give up the idea of quick profit and
take a more long-term view. Conspiring with corrupt officials may offer
immediate gains, but it does not provide a sense of security. First of all, this
involves cooking the books, as this is the only way to list the funds spent on
bribes.
Once that happens, the CCP will have them by the throat, leaving them at its
mercy. This is why foreign businesspeople in China, including Taiwanese, are
terrified any time auditing is mentioned. The only way to turn the Chinese
economy into a true market economy is to assist reform and bolster the judicial
system. The word “socialism” would no longer need to be mentioned and foreign
investments could be guaranteed.
In this battle, Google will be pushed into a corner and have to fight its way
out. I hope it will proceed with caution.
Paul Lin is a political commentator.
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