Anonymous, yet plausible postings have surfaced that bring to light some insight into what may have transpired to force Google to take such a strong stand and tell the Chinese Communist Party to 'shove it'.
It seems that the leading theory is that the Communist Party inserted engineer spies into the Shanghai offices of Google. This has been extrapolated from the following sequence of events:
When Google headquarters announced their withdrawal from China, they immediately canceled the rights of all Chinese engineers to access the servers on which their program code resided. The engineers only found out when they showed up for work that they could not longer enter the home page of their server. There was no pre-notification. Many people were halfway through their coding when they were frozen out. They will have to wait for weeks when they are transferred to the United States before they can continue to write.
If Google had planned to leave beforehand, why would they do this? They could have continued to let the workers work and clean up. For example, the Chinese company does Google Music differently than the US (music.google.cn and music.google.com). If Chinese Google Music is canceled, the Chinese engineers can do the code migration.
But all Chinese engineers were placed on paid leave while that work is being taken over by foreigners.
Why did Google suddenly distrust its Chinese team? After all, they developed their own codes and they should be more efficient in making the migration. The only reason is that the Chinese Communist Party must have inserted special agents inside Google (specifically in the Shanghai office of Google).
The truth of the matter is that this person was sent by the Chinese Communist Party. After being hired by Google, this person copied down the critical program code and handed it over the the Chinese Communist Party. The purpose of this action was to gain access to the email of the "human rights organizations." Google's official statement noted this.
The flaws of the Gmail system became exposed. Google could not officially acknowledge this, or else their reputation would suffer internationally. All Google could do was to stop all work in China. All engineers in China were not allowed to access the program code server. Then they seized the opportunity to correct their Gmail code over the next few days.
So the whole truth is simply this emergency incident. You can read the original Google statement. It was written in haste, but you can sense the shock among their top leaders. The three top managers of Google held an emergency meeting and came to a unanimous decision. How could they have reached an agreement with the United States government to do this beforehand? Do you feel that an official Google announcement would be so crudely written unlike any official document?
But the code theft this time caused Google to face a total collapse crisis. (The official Google blog said that this involved an intellectual property theft problem). To put it bluntly, the survival of the entire company would be threatened if they stayed in China. Therefore, they put a stop to all work at their China company.
-translation from Chinese Blog which has since disappeared from the site it was posted on
The writter seems to have some very good insight into this matter, perhaps a bit over stated with his assertion that a total collapse of Google would result if they stayed in China but insightful none the less. This is going to be a very interesting event to watch unfold as Google fights China in the real Ultimate Fight.
To get up to speed on this news item see my previous blog posts at:
Enough's enough, Google threatens to pull the plug in China
Yahoo backs Google in stand against Chinese Censorship - The Stakes Grow
your Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and surrounding areas Realtor
Situated on the shores of the mighty Fraser River and nestled against the Coast Mountains, Maple Ridge is a mecca of adventure for the outdoor enthusiast. Located 45 kilometers east of Vancouver, it is a progressive community well-known for its beautiful countryside and spectacular scenery. It is a community of urban sophistication that retains a sense of rural charm.
Thanks for pointing out the nature of this conflict. Charlie Gantz, Greenwood, IN; J.D., M.B.A.; Owner/Principal Broker, Atlas Commercial Real Estate, LLC
Charles: My pleasure, the international intrigue of it all is right up there with the Bourne Conspiracy
Interesting story. Thanks for the update!
Steve Ballmer made note of this during a speech in TX. Basically, he told Google - Welcome to our world at Microsoft. ANY company going in to China needs to be aware of that Country's political system, and its total integration with the economy.
Ron: Isnt it interesting that Big Brother turned out to be Chinese?
My family and I lived in China and wrote a book called FROM CONFUCIUS TO CONFUSE US! CHINA: A Survival Guide.
Scott, you and I are Capitalists through and through BUT I think you are off base in your attack of China with respect to Google and others. If you have spent any time there or discussed issues with Chinese (Mainland) Immigrants you will quickly learn that they are more Capitalistic than any other group of people on the face of this earth!!
Next time I am down, we should go for a beer and share stories.
After all, would you like to be judged based on the actions of George B, Stephen H or Gordon C?
In addition, we do not hear anything about the pornography that is blocked in China saving thousands of lives! Nor, that China has over a million millionaires!!
An old saying I once heard again rings true: “Money is money my little sonny, A Rich Man’s joke is always funny”.
This jokes on us!!
I hope to post some of my experiences in China soon!!
My question Scott is what is the real issue. I suspectthat with the expanding middle class and increasing of disposal income that China wants Google's revenue in its own pockets.
I'm not shocked. in order for the government of China to remain in power, they HAVE to control the flow of information.
Raymond my Brother from another Mother, I am reporting a world event that is happening and could significantly change the way the world is. Why would you say I am knocking China or the Chinese? The reference in the earlier blog is to the Chinese Communist Part, which as I understand it, is a very very small ruling class.
I guess I have pretty high standards when it comes to expectations of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Without all three the other two are just an illusion.
Thanks for posting this, I found it an interesting read...