Keep Google in China with alternative strategy

• Source: Global Times
• [22:55 January 13 2010]
• Comments

However, there is one simple truth in the censorship debate, and that is that all the howls of indignation from abroad will not affect Beijing's stance on how foreign companies access its markets and resources. From the perspective of a Westerner, it may be hard to agree with Beijing's stance on censorship. But we must also accept that, in blocking certain websites, the Chinese government is acting well within its rights.

During US President Barack Obama's recent visit to China, the president argued that free access to information was a mark of "strength, not weakness." There is something to be said for this approach.

In the modern economy, the emphasis has shifted away from traditional manufacturing to, as the sociologist Walter Powell puts it, "production and services based on knowledge- intensive activities that contribute to an accelerated pace of technical and scientific advance." In today's economic structures, information has become a company's most important asset.

Restricting the fl ow of information runs the risk of reducing creativity, innovation and competitiveness in the modern global market. However, while many will argue this risk can only be removed by a total end to censorship, there are alternative strategies.

The government must develop more sophisticated filtering technologies capable of sorting "acceptable" and "unacceptable" information more effectively. For example, the blanket ban on Facebook and Twitter may block the more unsavory elements of these sites, but it also denies Chinese firms the huge international marketing exposure offered by this type of new media.

Google have stated that they "will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law." As such, the company must be supported for enacting its decision through the appropriate legal channels.

No doubt, the Chinese government will, in turn, listen to Google's proposals fairly and evaluate their feasibility accordingly, but the final responsibility falls on them.

Whatever the outcome of Google's decision, the deeper issues will remain. China has consistently shown it believes in an incremental approach to development in these areas, but, as Bill Gates learned, respecting Chinese concerns can lead to huge rewards for both sides. For now, however, the onus is on the Chinese government to do what it thinks best.

The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer specializing in Chinese political economy. sigmills@hotmail.com