RIP Google.cn

Google exited the business of censorship today, redirecting traffic to google.cn for Search, News and Images, including mobile traffic, to google.com.hk from which I grabbed (and subsequently touched up subtly) the picture of Tankman to my right. As of the time of my posting this, China is not blocking its citizens from accessing Google’s Hong Kong site for Search, News, Images, Gmail and Ads while fully blocking Youtube, Sites and Blogger and partially filtering Docs, Picasa and Groups. Judging by the activity I’m seeing on Google Maps, Google Buzz is working fine. Trying to reach some of them for comment but they’re probably asleep. Better fire up my Android Google Translate app.

Update! Read my new Buzz transcripts from China by hitting …click here to read more here or preferably at the bottom! Sample buzz in response to my question about believing their news media:

李鹏 – nothing is true in the newspaper, all written by people, with their own understanding.just information.find the truth by our own mind.11:11 am

biAji ̃ – @doug absolutly not. I’m sure no one live in this planet believe everything in newspaper.1:02 pm

So Google wasn’t bluffing, their stock didn’t tank today (actually it’s up in after hours trading) and I’m proud to see them make this move finally. Up to Beijing how to handle this. I imagine they’ll drum up more rhetoric about Google and the US, have their journalists write negatively about Google’s bad manners but without filtering any further the Hong Kong site than they currently are. To eyeball that, here’s the status page. And here’s the press release.

What’s up now, Beijing? Let me guess, shame on us for being so arrogant and defiant with our big companies meddling in your affairs? This will help your own Internet companies thrive? Something like that? Good luck pedaling that crap, maybe your people will keep buying it. Be grateful they didn’t redirect it to Taiwan. Bravo Google. Cue face saving posturing music from the Orient.

I had better attempt to clarify China’s arrangement with Hong Kong though I may only confuse you more. China has autonomous areas. They call Hong Kong and Macau Special Autonomous Regions which are afforded full responsibility for governing themselves with exception to anything involving diplomacy (which I suppose could extend to Googlegate) and national defense. Such regions have their own legal systems and China keeps their distance. Basically China is to Hong Kong and Macau as the States are to Indian reservations.

It’s getting close to 7am in China (the whole place has the same time zone) and people are starting to go online and right now their government is not blocking the Hong Kong site for Web searching, image searching, news and Gmail (but still is for Youtube and the others I listed). Will the country topple with anarchy if too many people get the scoop on what happened with the man in the picture if the government doesn’t put a stop to it?

Doug Simmons

Update: Buzzing it up with anyone I can find on the streets of Beijing who’s not afraid of what will happen to their families if they respond to my buzz with information on the reaction of the PEOPLE. Read more for Buzz transcripts which are in progress.

12:20 am

Ze Wang – Mobile – Public

Google cn退出了，历史倒退呀，内虚的政府。北京市朝阳区东三环北路辅路
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12:37 am

Andrew Angelo Ang – Mobile – Public

Thank God google’s nit blocked… Yet! Hopefully it won’t be.北京市朝阳区光华路11号 – Show map

evan zhao – 一切正常12:42 am

Matthew Kintigh – Heck ya hows the weather out there12:45 am

Doug Simmons – Do the Chinese people believe everything their “official” newspapers write or do they know when they are reading propaganda?Edit12:55 am

crilent li – chinese seldom believe what the offical says. whatever the paper reports, i saw the contrary.3:08 am

Blinko Wang – I belive only what I see3:37 am

Andrew Angelo Ang – @mathew Better compared to last two to three days.@doug They don’t really bother coz they can’t do anything about whatever the government puts out. Although that’s slowly changing coz they can’t really control the whole internet. Usually, they don’t actually believe it. =)9:06 am

12:56 am

luis liu – Mobile – Public

豪宅的确不错，可惜现在价格太高了。锋尚
62号-70号 Jiangjiawei, Xiaguan, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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1 person liked this – Doug Simmons

Doug Simmons – Excuse me please. Do the Chinese people believe everything their “official” newspapers write or do they know when they are reading propaganda? You know what I am saying?Edit1:03 am

Leo Zhang – Hi Doug, just noticed that you are from the Big Apple city. Do you really buy it when Bush said Iraq is evil? :). To me, newspaper is no more than one information source. You read it, and maybe think about it, and have you own ideas of what really happens there.1:47 am

luis liu – i don’t care
……..1:48 am

李鹏 – nothing is true in the newspaper, all written by people, with their own understanding.just information.find the truth by our own mind.11:11 am

biAji ̃ – @doug absolutly not. I’m sure no one live in this planet believe everything in newspaper.1:02 pm

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Doug Simmons – Hello. Are you still able to use Google services?

小幸 – yes. lt’s nice.⊙.⊙7:37 pm (7:37am EST)
Doug Simmons – 谢谢您。我写这篇文章的有关问题 mobilitydigest.com 和将是有益的，如果你能告诉我今天如何回应市民感觉谷歌无视你们的政府。我将感谢任何评论。(I’m doing a thing on the situation and you’d help me save face if you’d give me some kind of comment on what’s doin’ over there, can you dig it?)

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gong zhang – i think our goverment did a wrong thing

Doug Simmons – Do you also think Google did a right thing? What do you think your government will to today in response?

Doug Simmons – Would you like your country even more if its restrictions on what information you can receive were relaxed as with Hong Kong? What is different about the people of Hong Kong that they do not need to be protected from unfiltered information?

gong zhang – what can i do for this ？i live here. i esteem google，i can get the information by other way .  9:26 pm

Doug Simmons – What you can do, what you are doing, is providing the rest of the world with the view of the Chinese people. All we otherwise get is press statements by your authorities and what your media reports which they apparently control. But you are restricted from going to sites like many blogs so we do not know what you think. However, right now with this Buzz chat for example, this precious information is getting through. As the world learns that not everyone in China hates Google and their defiance as the officials would lead everyone to believe, but esteems them, then it adds to the leverage that might be used politically to persuade your government to relax its restrictions on your freedom of information. 9:45 pm

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12:28 am

Benjamin Zhang – Mobile – Public

nnd 跳电了上海市虹口区同心路865号-1209号 – Show map

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Doug Simmons – Hello from New York. As a citizen are you angry with Google for defying your government? Forgive my intrusion.Edit8:03 pm

谢晓茵 – That’s all right, Simmons. I love google, however. 8:58 pm

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ZLeo Zhang – Hi Doug, just noticed that you are from the Big Apple city. Do you really buy it when Bush said Iraq is evil? :). To me, newspaper is no more than one information source. You read it, and maybe think about it, and have you own ideas of what really happens there.1:47 am

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Doug Simmons – Hi from the US. How do people feel about Google defying your government today?  8:53 pm

yaya huang – 孙子呗~~ i support google’s pursuing freedom~~it’s not fair~-_-8:59 pm

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8:10 pm

王焯 – Mobile – Public

早上起来发现google pinyin android更新了，再开twitter才知道Google已于今天凌晨停止对google.cn的审查，并转向到google.com.hk，我们与google见一面少一面了。我猜想，google pinyin的更新会越来越快，因为谷歌中国的员工会有大块精力腾出来。6号 Caihong Rd, Beijing – Show map

Doug Simmons – Hello from United States. Could you please tell me how the citizens feel about defying your government? I would be grateful for any information..Edit8:21 pm

王焯 – I’m frustrated and desprated, for both side.8:30 pm

Doug Simmons – Did Google exercise recklessness in not respecting your cultural sensitivities? Is there a good reason to enforce censorship of the Internet? Do you think Chinese officials will disrupt Hong Kong’s autonomy for allowing you to search without being filtered and to receive mainstream news? Sorry to ask so many questions, but anything you could give me, man I would appreciate it.Edit8:33 pm

王焯 – The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. from J.D.Sailinger. I know it’s ironic.9:29 pm

Doug Simmons – Well put. Still though, much forethought was put behind Google’s actions. If China does not block google.com.hk entirely, then the government is saying essentially that the people of the mainland are not capable of being informed freely whereas those of Hong Kong are more sophisticated and do not present a threat if fully informed. If China pressures Hong Kong to put a stop to this or blocks off access from within China, that could backfire tremendously. This feels like a game of chess and, correct me if I’m wrong, Google just made a bold move that has a shot of winning the entire game in a way that benefits the people of China.Edit9:55 pm

王焯 – Technically, the mainland gov could block/unblock google.com.hk anytime, that means people in mainland cannot benefit from this move. And IMO Hong Kong is not a perfect harbour of refuge since 1997, there are lots of agents of secret service. Anyway, Hong Kong is a better place to go.10:21 pm