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Their play wasn't "we're pulling out." It was "we're not censoring anymore." As far as I know, they're still not censoring anymore. Seems to me like a win for a

• strebler 16y ago
  That's true, but it seemed like pulling out was the logical conclusion after "breaking local laws". The thing I don't understand is why going from "autoredirect" to "click to redirect" was the crux for renewal. It feels strange that that was the key deciding factor for the Government.
  • varjag 16y ago
    It was not. It was a face-saving act for the CPC courtesy of Google, and both parties knew it. Now Google officially complies to Chinese government demands, and they can chalk it as victory (no matter if only very formal one).
    • zapb 16y ago
      Exactly, Google complies with the government demands. But next year there will be more government demands.
      • varjag 16y ago
        I'm not sure about that. Google already demonstrated they don't care about their presence in China that much to put up with the crap, so the Party will likely avoid stand-offs in the future.
  • zapb 16y ago
    This one I can explain, it's a token concession used by the government to get Google in the "right frame of mind" (in their view). Google gives them an inch, eventually they will demand a mile. Google's domain renewal, from now until the foreseeable future, will be a difficult time for Google/China relations - the government will escalate their demands every year. It will be interesting to see what the government makes them do next year to keep the domain. It's part of their negotiating process, that government is very used to being threatened like this and certainly knows how to return in kind. Politics in China can be incredibly subtle (and deadly).