Submitted by chinastock on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 17:38
Posted in
Shaun Rein of the China Market Research Group submits:
This column originally appeared in Forbes.
Google (GOOG) is so big and influential that its threat to shut its China offices if the Chinese government doesn't allow uncensored search is essentially an act of statecraft. Cutting off search and e-mail would be as serious as blockading oil to a nation. In today's global system it is easy to ignore a secretary of state, let alone an ambassador. Chief executives of big multinational corporations wield far more influence. If other foreign firms and activist investors in companies conducting business in China banded with Google, they could launch a serious threat to the stability of China, or of any country.