During the last week or so, there have been bulletins outlining Google's responsibility to advertisers, and the likely breaching of that responsibility if they were to exit China. And this in the face of a China government that seemingly was about to put the squeeze on the software giant.
China state media step up rhetoric against Google
http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/03/21/china.google.rhetoric/index.html?hpt=SbinI meant to post the bulletins at the time and will now go back see what I can find about this peripheral issue in the Google / China impasse. I believe some advertisers were lining up compensation cases. Interesting too were attempts to tally Google's investments in China up to this point, and then the announcement about the near completion of the Unity cable, which by any persons reasoning would once again put Google back on the China road map .
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2259863/google-almost-ready-pacificI will not be surprised if Google has moved very quickly to turn the situation to its own advantage. So I will see if I can dig up a couple of the articles on Google's China portfolio, and what would have been at stake, (and may yet still be), were software maker to have been adversely caught between its advertising commitments and an increasingly antagonistic China government.
Past history now, perhaps, but still an insight into how capably the company can move amongst the biggest market players to secure its interest and re-confirm its investment strategy, in face of what appeared at the time to be impossible odds.
Google's Ad Partners in China Say Standoff Threatens Their Business
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704688604575125420301711134.htmlChinese ad partners beg Google for information
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20000601-93.htmlChina warns Google partners: Look for backup
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000422-264.html