Google shuts down search services in China
After a protracted brawl with the Chinese government over censorship, the Internet giant Google shut down its search engine inside China, Google.cn, on March 22. While Google’s tactics were primarily driven by commercial considerations, the issue has become entwined with the Obama administration’s more aggressive stance toward Beijing since the beginning of the year. Google claimed its move would “meaningfully increase access to information for people in China”. In fact, the company simply redirected Google.cn users to its Hong Kong site.