Fri May 18, 2012
Freedom within limits
Google in bed with Big Brother
By Joshua Juan, China – August 2010
After months of on-again, off-again negotiations in June and July, the Chinese government finally allowed Google to renew its registration and operating license. Because this was a milestone agreement, one worries what kind of a deal was struck. Will Google now help the government to track its citizens?
In comparison to its competitor, Baidu.com – the Chinese online search company – Google is very popular in China. It provides far more freedom and authority in its on-line sources in addition to offering Google Scholar, Google Library and Gmail.
While many felt the presence of a political ghost lingering behind these discussions and remain pessimistic about the future others see Google’s reentry into China as a sign that the country is no longer ruled by dictators – that government intervention was appropriate as there must always be a balance between freedom and censorship.
In reality however, Google is really the ragged hat that the Chinese government has chosen to disguise its true colors. The Chinese government will never stop its surveillance practices of spying into people’s private lives.
What is perplexing about the government’s decision is the fact that while Google is allowed to operate in China, a TV dating program, You Are Not the One was shut down. Government did not approve of the broadcast which they deemed as furthering a woman’s materialist views of marriage.
Government’s presence is easily felt in many other ways as well. It also closed down Psiphone, Free Door and other online software that breaks the Great Fire Wall (GFW).
Free speech is just not something the Chinese government wants people to enjoy. While the government nurtures other freedoms – like the ability to buy fancy apartments – people are forbidden to discuss their religious beliefs or politics. Such discussions are considered missionary work and people caught talking about religion are considered criminals. Recently an Uyghur scholar was sentenced to jail for 15 years for remarks he made to a Hong Kong publication about the riot in 2009.
In such a Big Brother, 1984-type environment people should not be foolish enough to think that they are free to peruse the internet. In this country, the government is fond of controlling the mind of the general public. To control is perceived to be the best way to manage society so it can be harmonious and stable.
Facebook and Twitter are not allowed in this country. Wikipedia barely survived – only like a candle in the wind after Facebook and Twitter were banned. The reason? There’s too much distractive information on these websites and the general public cannot distinguish between right from wrong.
The real reason has to do with government feeling threatened by the release of free information. Just a few weeks ago, it was decided that any article about a major government news event that is published in any nationally distributed newspaper in China must be written by a government-appointed “journalist.” Newspapers can only publish news written and screened by those from Xin Hua News Agency.
Yes, the government as the all-knowing and all-powerful father of all the Chinese people will never allow Google to operate freely as it does in other countries around the world. In China, you can never bargain with a lion when you share its territory. You can never be the exception when the state apparatus is structured to destroy the individual. You can’t have faith in a government that doesn’t have faith in you. The only thing you can do is work hard to create change.
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Interesting piece – very well written too! A similar “battle of the minds” is raging between RIM (makers of Blackberry) and the UAE government too… no idea who’s going to win, but as always, the masses are at the losing end of the deal.