Committed to discontinuing censorship in it’s Chinese search results, Google Inc., began redirecting traffic from google.cn, based in mainland China to their unfiltered Hong Kong site.
Google will provide unfiltered results in simplified Chinese, intended to reach users on Mainland China. The move will surely incite Chinese officials who demanded the internet company adhere to China’s rules should they continue to service the nation. The latest move is a loophole in that contract, designed to help the Chinese get more information.
On their blog, Google explained the situation: “The Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement. We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we’ve faced -- it’s entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China.”
Hong Kong, though a part of China, has a separate economy and a capitalist government that will be maintained until 2047. What remains to be seen is how long Google will continue to permit users from China’s mainland access to the uncensored material, which includes such items as “Tiananmen Square massacre.”
The Chinese government may also block the site given the easy access to information the government has tried so hard to keep from its citizens.
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