MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Google is “totally wrong” in stopping filtering Chinese site, warns Beijing

The US company begun re-directing traffic from its Chinese home page to the company’s unfiltered Hong Kong site, outside of mainland China

Google Inc. is “totally wrong” in stopping censorship of its Chinese-language search results and blaming China for “alleged hacker attacks,” Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday, citing an unidentified government official.

“This is totally wrong,” state-run Xinhua quoted the official, who it said is in charge of the Internet bureau under the State Council Information Office, as saying. “We’re uncompromisingly opposed to the politicization of commercial issues, and express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conduct.”

Google began redirecting traffic Monday from its Chinese home page to the company’s unfiltered Hong Kong site, outside of mainland China. The Internet provider will offer unfettered results in simplified Chinese, designed for users on the mainland, according to a blog post Monday. It escalates a two- month standoff with authorities over censorship after the US company said it had been hit by cyber attacks from within the country.

“Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market,” the ministry official said, according to Xinhua. The official’s statement came two hours after Google announced it would stop filtering its Chinese site, Xinhua said.

The Mountain View, California-based company challenged the government of the world’s most populous country in January by threatening to allow all search results to be shown on its China Web site, including references to Tibet and the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. Google has about 600 employees in the country. Google.cn included the search engine, Google News and Google Images.

Hong Kong has a separate government and economy, a legacy of its role as a British territory until 1997, though China has since exercised powers to reinterpret local statutes. At the handover of sovereignty, China promised to preserve Hong Kong’s capitalist system and free press for a further 50 years.

Xinhua cited the official as saying Google had met Chinese officials twice, on Jan. 29 and Feb. 25, since the US company announced its withdrawal threat.

“We made patient and meticulous explanations on the questions Google raised (in the talks) ... telling it we would still welcome its operation and development in China if it was willing to abide by Chinese laws,” the official was quoted as saying. The official said Google had been told that “it would be its own affair if it was determined to withdraw its service,” according to the report.

“Foreign companies must abide by Chinese laws and regulations when they operate in China,” the official was quoted as saying.