Democracy, Made in PRC

'A BBC search of google.cn on Tuesday using the word "Tiananmen" brought up results but the words "Dalai Lama" returned messages like "problem loading page" and "the connection was reset".'

According to Chen Yafei, a Chinese information technology specialist, 'Any company entering China should abide by Chinese laws," he said. "Chinese internet users will have no regrets if Google withdraws.' Fair enough (though I have very much doubt that his view is shared by Chinese internet viewers). And if Google cares enough about the principles that have, after all, enabled companies of its kind to expand and flourish, it should pull out of China, unless it is allowed to operate with those principles intact.

Searching Google.cn today from the comfort of Europe is no problem: an exact search for "Dalai Lama" on Google.cn was redirected to http://www.google.com.hk/search?hl=zh-CN&safe=strict&q=%22dalai+lama%22&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
and yielded

The real problem is, what options are there for people within China, who - if the same censorship applies to all search engines - are denied the right to access information and communicate freely with the world outside their country.

Source of quoted material: BBC