I think Google entering China, agreeing to censorship, was an umbrella that provided ethical shelter to a lot of other companies who were willing to take the sa

I think Google entering China, agreeing to censorship, was an umbrella that provided ethical shelter to a lot of other companies who were willing to take the same deal. So the biggest impact of them walking away has to be that they take their umbrella with them, and suddenly everyone else is getting wet. They are in effect threatening the Chinese government with a stampede of all companies that care about being seen to be ethical, and a substantial blackening of their name. This is absolutely hitting the Chinese where it hurts.