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Rumor Schedules Google China Exit For April 10th

Google may end its search operations in China very soon, according to a new report.  A local employee supposedly told a Chinese newspaper that Google will announce its plans to leave on Monday, March 22nd, and then actually pull out on Saturday, April 10th. It’s hard to judge the accuracy of this information.  On the one hand, there have been no shortages of rumors and hoaxes surrounding...

Google China Shows “Tank Man,” Tibet Search Results

The clash between Google and the Chinese government appears to be coming to a head.  Various sources have reported that Google ignored a cut-off date to reregister as an Internet content provider in China, and more importantly, that the company has stopped censoring search results. Let’s get the paperwork-related story out of the way first.  Charles Arthur wrote this morning, "Google...

Google, China Edge Closer To Face-Off

The odds of Google keeping its Chinese search operation running are starting to seem quite small.  The Chinese government has started advising Google’s partners to prepare contingency plans, and one anonymous person who’s supposed to be close to Google even said the company is 99.9 percent likely to shut things down. The "99.9 percent" comment, which we first mentioned over...

Possible Scenarios for Google in China @ SXSW

After a long morning of travel and SXSW preperation, WebProNews popped in on an interesting talk from writer and tech watcher, Kaiser Kuo (here’s his bio) about what might happen with the whole Google/China situation, which has essentially remained at a stand-still for the past two months, since Google made its famous announcement about a "new approach to China." Kuo said right out...

Schmidt On China: “Something Will Happen Soon”

Two Google executives have again assured onlookers that the company is dealing with the situation in China.  While in Abu Dhabi, Eric Schmidt indicated today that something will happen sooner rather than later, and Nicole Wong told politicians in D.C. that leaving China is still an option. Unfortunately, not a lot of other details and/or promises were forthcoming.  Eric Schmidt’s exact...

Google Reiterates Support For Uncensored Results In China

When Google made its dramatic "new approach to China" announcement in January, it sounded as if the company might leave the country within the month.  Obviously, that didn’t happen.  But according to testimony given today before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, Google hasn’t forgotten its ultimatum. Nicole Wong, Vice President...

Baidu Receives $50 Million To Build Video Site

The creation of the Chinese equivalent of Hulu is now officially underway.  Providence Equity Partners, which invested $100 million in the original American video site, will give Baidu $50 million to create Qiyi.com.  Qiyi should similarly offer premium content and rely on ad revenue. Qiyi will indeed be a completely by-the-book operation, judging from an "About Us" section that’s...

Chinese Scientists Cling To Google

China’s standing in the scientific community might be damaged if Google leaves the country, according to the results of a new survey.  This isn’t a simple matter of reputation, either; a great many Chinese scientists instead acknowledged that they regard the search engine as a useful research tool. As reported by Reuters, the journal Nature contacted over 700 scientists, and "84...

Google Calls Off Android Event In Beijing

A little over a month ago, Google delayed the launch of two Android phones in China.  Now, the company appears to have followed up that move by deciding to cancel an Android developer event in Beijing. We should note that Google’s claimed no such event was ever planned; according to corporate representatives, gatherings in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan are all that were scheduled to take...

Chinese President Hu Jintao Joins Twitter Equivalent

Although not directly related, a new development has added a layer of complexity (and perhaps humor) to the Google/China/censorship mess.  Chinese President Hu Jintao has signed up for an account on what appears to be the state-run equivalent of Twitter. The relationship is not quite a direct one.  The People’s Daily is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, and the...

Another Piece of Chinese Google Attack Puzzle Falls into Place

Update: The Financial Times is reporting that the writer of the code used in the infamous attacks on Google and other companies has allegedly been identified. The publication’s Joseph Menn writes: A freelance security consultant in his 30s wrote the part of the program that used a previously unknown security hole in the Internet Explorer web browser to break into computers and insert the...

MSFT, Google Prepare For Mobile Future In China

More evidence that Google and Microsoft remain very interested in China has surfaced.  Both companies have struck deals with MediaTek, a semiconductor company that specializes in wireless communications, and said deals should help them make headway in China’s mobile market. Dan Nystedt reported earlier today, "MediaTek has already developed a chipset and other hardware for Microsoft’s...

Google May Invest In Chinese Media/Ad Firm

A little less than a month ago, Google announced that it might shut down Google.cn and its offices in China.  The search giant may not be giving up on the country entirely, however, as a new report has indicated that it’s part of a group attempting to invest in a large Chinese media and advertising company. According to George Chen and Melanie Lee, Disney is leading a consortium that includes...

Google Partners with NSA on Cyber Attack Analysis

Update 4: Google has reportedly now teamed up with the National Security Agency to analyze the attack and try to better defend against such attacks in the future. Update 3: The Chinese government has reportedly denied that it had any involvement in the much publicized cyber attacks against Google and other companies. AFP provides the following quotes: The "accusation that the Chinese...

Baidu’s Stock Rises On Analysts’ Comments

The odds of Google leaving China appear to have been raised today.  Two financial experts made positive comments about Baidu, and while neither issued any carved-in-stone predictions about its competitor departing, investors are now buying more shares of the Chinese company’s stock. For what it’s worth, Credit Suisse analyst Wallace Cheung actually believes Google will stay in China. ...