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> It will not affect Google's offerings outside of China. But while inside their walls, you got to follow their rules. No. Having operations in China gives the

by ardy42 8y ago

> It will not affect Google's offerings outside of China. But while inside their walls, you got to follow their rules. No. Having operations in China gives the Chinese government leverage over you, which they're starting to use to pressure companies to toe their line even outside of the PRC. For examples, see the recent articles regarding airline's treatment of Taiwan on their websites [1]. See also how Mercedes-Benz was forced to apologize for posting a Dalai Lama quote on Instagram [2], and how a Marriott employee was fired after he "liked" a post about Tibetan independence [3]. The latter two happened despite both websites being blocked in China. Years ago, Yahoo also handed the Chinese government information revealing the identities of two Chinese pro-democracy activists, which resulted in their imprisonment [4]. Maybe you were too small for them to bother with, but I'm not sure the PRC could resist the temptation of using the leverage they'd have over a Google with significant Chinese operations. After all, Google is the gatekeeper of information in the West (Google Search), and one of the main ways Westerners and dissidents communicate (Gmail). [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-airlines-china/u-s-airlines-poised-to-change-taiwan-references-as-china-deadline-looms-sources-idUSKBN1KE1GB https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-airlines-china/u-s-ai... [2] https://www.dw.com/en/mercedes-bows-to-chinese-pressure-after-dalai-lama-instagram-post-prompts-outrage/a-42475537 https://www.dw.com/en/mercedes-bows-to-chinese-pressure-afte... [3] https://www.wsj.com/articles/marriott-employee-roy-jones-hit-like-then-china-got-mad-1520094910 https://www.wsj.com/articles/marriott-employee-roy-jones-hit... [4] https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3862513&page=1 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3862513&page=1

bobjordan 8y ago
Any company operating in China must necessarily welcome a new stakeholder to the table, which are the Chinese citizens, themselves. With that, Chinese citizens are on the whole proud nationalists. Flag waving, chest thumping Nationalists, proud of their country and protecting against any perceived or real slight. Sure, many of them are likely Party members, raised from birth. So, it seems hard to discern the line here between it being an actual concerted government action against these companies vs. just simply a function of a gang of these loudly screaming nationalist citizens, connected through social media, calling out the companies.
- ardy42 8y ago
  > So, it seems hard to discern the line here between it being an actual concerted government action against these companies vs. just simply a function of a gang of these loudly screaming nationalist citizens, connected through social media, calling out the companies. There is also the 50 cent party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party
- gurkendoktor 8y ago
  In the case of airlines, it was the Chinese gov't directly. I would assume that they attempt to solve issues through "grassroots" complaints before officially stepping in. But it doesn't really matter. The end result is the same, Google becomes more susceptible to blackmail.
- emiliobumachar 8y ago
  That does not at all alleviate the concerns about Google's presence in China affecting the business outside of China. How does that square with the "separate sets of rules" you mentioned earlier?
throwappppp 8y ago
That is not so different when US is threatened to sanction companies/countries that trying to import oil from certain country. Market itself is the leverage.

by ardy42 8y ago

bobjordan 8y ago

Any company operating in China must necessarily welcome a new stakeholder to the table, which are the Chinese citizens, themselves. With that, Chinese citizens are on the whole proud nationalists. Flag waving, chest thumping Nationalists, proud of their country and protecting against any perceived or real slight. Sure, many of them are likely Party members, raised from birth. So, it seems hard to discern the line here between it being an actual concerted government action against these companies vs. just simply a function of a gang of these loudly screaming nationalist citizens, connected through social media, calling out the companies.

ardy42 8y ago
> So, it seems hard to discern the line here between it being an actual concerted government action against these companies vs. just simply a function of a gang of these loudly screaming nationalist citizens, connected through social media, calling out the companies. There is also the 50 cent party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party
gurkendoktor 8y ago
In the case of airlines, it was the Chinese gov't directly. I would assume that they attempt to solve issues through "grassroots" complaints before officially stepping in. But it doesn't really matter. The end result is the same, Google becomes more susceptible to blackmail.
emiliobumachar 8y ago
That does not at all alleviate the concerns about Google's presence in China affecting the business outside of China. How does that square with the "separate sets of rules" you mentioned earlier?

throwappppp 8y ago

That is not so different when US is threatened to sanction companies/countries that trying to import oil from certain country. Market itself is the leverage.