Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A532-W308

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A532-W308

Release Date: March 22, 2010

发布日：2010年3月22日

Topic: Google Stops Censorship of China Search Engine (AFP)

标题：谷歌停止其在中国网络检索的审查 -- 法新社

Original Language Version: English (Chinese version at the end)

此号以英文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

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Google stops censorship of China search engine

By Chris Lefkow (AFP)

WASHINGTON - Google stopped censoring Internet search results in China on Monday in a move that was hailed by rights groups but drew an angry reaction from the Chinese authorities.

The Internet titan announced in a blog post that it had begun redirecting mainland Chinese users of its Chinese-language search engine Google.cn to an uncensored Google site in Hong Kong.

Google's decision came a little more than two months after the Mountain View, California-based company threatened to close its Chinese operations because of cyberattacks it said originated from China.

China reacted angrily to Google's move saying it was "totally wrong" to stop censorship and to blame Beijing for the alleged cyberattacks that Google said targeted email accounts of Chinese human rights activists around the world.

"Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering its searching service," said the official in charge of the Internet bureau of the State Council Information Office.

"We're uncompromisingly opposed to the politicization of commercial issues, and express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conduct," the Chinese official said.

The White House said it was "disappointed" Google could not reach a deal with Beijing and reiterated that US President Barack Obama is "committed to Internet freedom and... opposed to censorship."

"The US-China relationship is mature enough to sustain differences," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer added.

"Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard," Google's chief legal officer David Drummond said in a blog post.

"Earlier today we stopped censoring our search services -- Google Search, Google News, and Google Images -- on Google.cn," Drummond said.

"Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong.

"We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services," he said.

Chronology of Google's operations in China

Drummond said that "in terms of Google's wider business operations, we intend to continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence there."

"We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement," Drummond said.

"We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced -- it's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China," Drummond said.

Google launched Google.cn in January 2006 after agreeing to censor websites for content banned under Chinese law. Chinese search engine Baidu.com is the search market leader in China followed by Google.cn.

Beijing tightly controls online content in a vast system dubbed the "Great Firewall of China," removing information it deems harmful such as pornography and violent content, but also politically sensitive material.

Google's decision to end censorship in the country with the world's largest online population, some 384 million Web users, was welcomed by rights groups.

Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, called it "an important step to challenge the Chinese government's use of censorship to maintain its control over its citizens."

"The onus is now on other major technology companies to take a firm stand against censorship," Ganesan said.

Sharon Hom, executive director of New York-based Human Rights in China, said Google was throwing the ball in the court of Beijing, which promised to respect freedoms in Hong Kong when it regained the territory in 1997.

"They are technically staying in China but stopping censorship," she said.

"Google has taken a courageous position against censorship," said Lucie Morillon of Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders.

Leading Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, who spent nearly two decades in prison and now lives in the United States, said he was not surprised.

"We knew all too well that the Chinese government would not back down, but we also knew that Google's motto was 'Don't be evil.' So there was no point on which to compromise," Wei told AFP.

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中文版

Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A532-W308

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A532-W308

Release Date: March 22, 2010

发布日：2010年3月22日

Topic: Google Stops Censorship of China Search Engine (AFP)

标题：谷歌停止其在中国网络检索的审查 -- 法新社

Original Language Version: English (Chinese version at the end)

此号以英文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2010/report2010-03/GoogleCN100322AFPnewsA532-W308.htm

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谷歌停止其在中国网络检索的审查（简译）

-- 法新社Chris Lefkow报道

2010年3月22日星期一华盛顿

谷歌星期一宣布将停止其对中国网络检索的审查。这一做法得到了人权团体的欢呼，却收到了来自中国当局的愤怒的反应。

这个网络巨头宣布将把中国大陆用户受审查的中文检索引擎Google.cn转接到不受审查的香港谷歌Google.com.hk上。

谷歌这个决定是在它两个多月前由于所发生的中国网络黑客非法侵入人权活动家私人信箱而威胁结束其在中国的运行之后。

中国当局却认为停止其对中国网络检索的审查是“完全错误”的，北京不应该承担黑客袭击的责任。中共官方指责谷歌要求退出中国是出于政治动机，并指责谷歌违反了进入中国市场时的条约。白宫则对谷歌不能和中国达成协议表示遗憾，但重申美国总统奥巴马网络自由、反对网络审查的承诺。美国国家安全理事会发言人说：“中美关系相当稳固，应该可以包容一些异议。”

谷歌法律负责人David Drummond在部落格上说：“很难找到良好的途径实现我们停止审查的承诺。”谷歌希望中国政府对他们的决定有良好的反应，但也做好了中国政府可能会随时阻止大陆用户的检索连接到香港的网络上的准备

这位谷歌官员说谷歌还将继续在中国大陆有关的科研开发，并保持在中国的销售。他希望更多的人，包括中国人使用谷歌的服务；但中国政府绝不在审查制度上妥协让步。他还说：谷歌将中文简体检索转到谷歌香港网站上，这样做并不违反在中国大陆的法律，而它又将增加中国大陆用户的信息量。

谷歌于2006年一月开始谷歌中国网站Google.cn，并同意进行网络审查。百度目前是在谷歌检索器之后的中国最大检索器。北京当局一贯严格控制网络信息，其“中国防火墙”不仅过滤掉了黄色图片和暴力内容，同时也把政治敏感的资料删去了。

各人权组织对网络巨头谷歌决定在这个世界上网人口最多的国家结束审查表示欢迎，认为是“反抗中国政府控制百姓的重要步骤 ”； “现在该轮到其它技术公司坚定地站在反审查的立场上了”； “是给北京政府一击；北京在1997香港回归时曾保证不侵犯香港的自由”；认为“谷歌面对审查表现出了自己的勇气”。

中国持不同政见者领袖魏京生曾在中国坐了近20年的牢。他目前居住美国。对谷歌事件，魏京生表示一点也不奇怪。魏京生告诉法新社说：“我们太了解中共政府了，它不会后退。但我们也知道谷歌的座右铭是‘不作恶’。所以，两者之间没有折衷。”

原文连接：

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iH3PVPTaSEx-H8vcbJiAvMr7eR0w

（魏京生基金会中文简译。www.WeiJingSheng.org）

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