Well, that didn't take long...

[bascule]

Just after launching their new service, Google.cn was blocked by the Great Firewall of China. Yay!

Might have something to do with the fact that Chinese web users can see full, uncensored results for their Google search by replacing "&meta=" with "&meta=cr%3DcountryBR" in the URL.

[Badkarma]

It's the 4th here today and the article was yesterday. I have not got the chance to try it personally since yesterday we also had an internet problem at work, though our servers are in Canada. The MITNET guys said something bout a thingmahjingy in China. It was like 12 hours of no internet.
Today, I tried logging-in to Google.cn and it works fine. Maybe they already did something to it.

Weird thing is I tried to make a search for "falun gong" and it yielded results.

[Deviant Ollam]

Weird thing is I tried to make a search for "falun gong" and it yielded results.

yes, it yielded them for me, too. let's see what results it showed...

Outlawing Falun Gong Cult
Chen Shumin, general manager of a Chongqing-based technology company and a Falun Gong cult practitioner, and four other people received ... Teng Chunyan: I Am Pleased to Shake off the Spiritual Shackle of the Falun Gong Cult

Falun Gong hijacks HK satellite
A Hong Kong based satellite company accused on Sunday the Falun Gong cult, that has been outlawed on the Chinese mainland, of hijacking its satellite and disrupting its normal

Falun Gong Doctrine Self-contradicted
... However, he called on practitioners to assault governmental departments and even disrupt the public order in Tian'anmen Square

Falun Gong's anti-humanity, anti-science, anti-society nature
The People's Daily, the leading newspaper of China, outlined the anti-humanity, anti-science and anti-society nature of the...

15 Falun Gong Activists Sentenced to Jail & Fine in Singapore
Singapore Magistrate Court Thursday imposed sentences to 15 Falun Gong convicts under the charges of illegal assembly and obstruction to police duty.

Memorandum on "Falun Gong"
The cult of "Falun Gong" appeared in China in the early 1990s. ... Exposed here are the wickedness of Li Hongzhi and the cult nature of "Falun Gong" organization which has ruined lives, destroyed families and harmed society.

looks like some terrific, unbiased, totally free-from-censorship-yessiree results right there.

i don't know which i have a greater problem with... china itself filtering and blocking what her citizens can read, or private companies specially-tailoring information to conform to china's policies.

[eris]

If a private company came to America, it would have to abide by our rules of business to continue to operate within our lands. Why should Google be different?

While I agree that given a more perfect world, no country would be as...controlled... as China (among others) is, I defend it's right to force Google to conform to its policies in order to do business within it's lands and political environs.

Google made the choice to open Google.cn with, as they say, "eyes wide shut" and is now reaping what it sowed.


**edit: my comment about China was a bit too politically charged the first time, my apologies**

[Deviant Ollam]

If a private company came to America, it would have to abide by our rules of business to continue to operate within our lands. Why should Google be different?

well, i'd mention for starters the fact that (as far as i know) the united states isn't on the watch list of any internetional oversight groups that monitor human rights abuses. (well, i may be wrong about that, especially now after the abu ghraib mess and our rendering of prisoners to secret prisons for torture around the world). still, though... i don't know how fair it is to compare the us and china, even in the realm of trade policy.

it's right to force Google to conform to its policies in order to do business within it's lands and political environs.

it is their right to do so... sure. my problem is with the mere fact that google and other corporations are willing to do business with a nation like china. to make an analogy that fits well but over-simplifies the situation somewhat...

let's say there's a restaunt around my area. (a chinese restaraunt, perhaps... since we're talking about china.) it is owned by an abusive asshole who spends his idle time punching his wife square in the face every now and then. i really love this place and want to eat food there. however, the guy has a house rule which is... "anyone who enters the front door must first walk over here and punch my wife in the face before you will be seated at a table." no matter how much i cherish the idea of dining there, i will refuse to on the grounds that i don't want to contribute to the situation. even if i wasn't required to punch her myself, but instead had to endure the whole meal hearing her getting socked every now and then... i still couldn't eat there. (because i'd know full well that the profits the man makes from patrons like myself are what allows him all this free time with which to punch his wife in the face.)

instead, i'd tell the guy... look, i really really want to eat here. you have great food and i'd like to deal with you. however, i refuse to assist you in punching your wife in the face. furthermore, i won't sit idly by and witness you punching her in the face... i will never come in here and dine again until you knock it the fuck off. if the whole community had a sense of decency, the guy would either be forced to treat his wife correctly or go broke. however, if the rest of the community doesn't give a damn... then i'm just a guy standing out in the parking lot, listening to the bleeding woman sob through the open window, relatively powerless to do anything about it.

every single corporation who enters into agreements and deals with china at this point is an additional customer who says "i'll have the number four special with shrimp fried rice, please" and makes it even less effective when people try to put pressure on china over human rights matters. those who deal with china just to gain access to her markets are one thing... but those like rupert murdoch or (one could argue) google, whose business dealings actually assist china in monitoring and propagandizing better... they to me are like the customer who says "does your wife mind if i'm wearing this large class ring?" before sitting down to the table.