Google (GOOG) May Exit China

Bloomberg reports, citing a story by China Business News, that Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) may exit China on April 10. China Business News has cited an unidentified Google sales agent in China as its source of information. According to China Business News, the company may announce its pullout on March 22 and also give information on its plans for its Chinese employees. Jessica Powell, Tokyo based spokeswoman for Google, declined any comment on the issue.

Google has been threatening to leave China ever since trouble broke out between the company and the Chinese government over censorship issues. On January 12, the company had said that it will not follow the guidelines set by the Chinese government for Google.cn, the company’s Chinese search engine. Google had taken a stand against censorship after it was revealed that the company’s computers had been hacked from within China. According to the company, it was the target of a sophisticated cyber attack, which was aimed at stealing the personal data of human rights activist in China, who use the company’s popular email service. A New York Times report had suggested that the attack took place from two Chinese schools.

Censorship is very critical to the policy of the Chinese government as it tries to curb any dissent against the Communist Party and politburo members circulated through the internet by human rights activists in the country.

In an interview, Peter Lui, Google’s former financial controller for the Asia-Pacific region, said that Google will find it difficult to come back to China, if in it pulls out of the country.