From James Fallows at The Atlantic:
"It is a significant development. Significant for Google; and while only marginally significant for developments inside China, potentially very significant for China's relations with the rest of the world.... If a major U.S. company -- indeed, Google has been ranked the #1 brand in the world -- has concluded that, in effect, it must break diplomatic relations with China because its policies are too repressive and intrusive to make peace with, that is a significant judgment."
He also reminds readers of the distinction between "China" and its rise, which he sees as largely positive, and this particular government that has promulgated a certain set of policies:
"For my Chinese readers, let me emphasize again my argument that China is not a "threat" and that its development is good news for mankind. But its government is on a path at the moment that courts resistance around the world." (Read more)
From ZDNet:
Assessing Google's showdown with China: Does it make sense?
Looks at the issue from Google's perspective.
"Google’s currency is user trust. As a global business that profits from tracking users and tailoring ads to them security matters a lot. If users don’t trust Google to keep their data safe Google’s business suffers. In that light, Google’s showdown with China makes sense. Google can’t let one country -- even one that could be insanely profitable -- erode the company’s goodwill it has built up in its short history. What happens in China can hurt Google’s other businesses." (Read more)
Overall coverage from the New York Times here.
URLs:
http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2010/01/first_reactions_on_google_and.php
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29457
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/asia/13beijing.html
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