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E-mailResponding to Google’s statement on Tuesday that it would no longer operate in China if subjected to government censorship, China said that its internet is "open" despite state regulations.
"China's Internet is open," said Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman. "China welcomes international Internet enterprises to conduct business in China according to law."
She added, "The Chinese government administers the Internet according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the Internet.”
Although Google had until recently accepted the censorship, a recent slew of online attacks on the Google accounts of several Chinese activists has pushed the company to stand firm against the ‘Firewall of China.’
Investigations by online security agencies pinpoint the source of the attacks to be "a single foreign entity consisting either of agents of the Chinese state or proxies thereof."
“The incident raises questions about both Internet freedom and the security of the Internet in China,” said Philip Crowley of the US State Department, which has also demanded an explanation from China for the attacks.
Google spokesperson Scott Rubin said they are still "optimistic" that a compromise might be worked out with China, which is the world’s largest online market with 360 million users. Should those fall through however, the internet behemoth is prepared to entirely uproot itself from the People’s Republic.
According to Beijing professor and human rights lawyer Teng Biao, "Google leaving China makes people sad, but accepting censorship to stay in China and abandoning its `Don't Be Evil' principles is more than just sad.”
The Chinese newspaper The Global Times warned that Google’s departure would be a “lose-lose situation” for China.
"Google is taking extreme measures but it is reminding us that we should pay attention to the issue of the free flow of information," it said. “We have to advance with the times."
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