China: Google's exit to hit bloggers, activists

Beijing, Mar 20: The face-off between Internet giant Google and China has more than just political and economic repercussions as there is a large section in the the communist nation that believes that Google's withdrawal would further isolate them from the rest of the world.

It has been reported that Google is already packing its bags and will be leaving China in a couple of weeks. The search engine behemoth decided to pull out as the talks on the issue of Internet censorship in Asian giant collapsed.

A report in The Washington Post narrates the pain of a group of bloggers, scholars, researchers and human rights activists who are going to be most affected by this development.

A popular blogger, Zhao Hun went to the Internet giant's Beijing headquarters with a bouquet of flowers, which is a funeral practice in China.

"I used to believe that over time there would be more freedom and openness," he is quoted as saying.

Chen Xiaoqiang, a 30-year-old instructor at a business school, told the Post how it has now become an impulse to Google when he needs something.

"When I meet something unfamiliar, my first reaction is to Google it," said Chen.

Expressing anguish over how Google's move will adversely impact the researchers of the country, 55-year-old biologist Ma Yuanye said, "Without Google, our academic research will be seriously affected. If Google is blocked, we will see nothing but darkness."

With Google's departure, this section of the country believes that they would feel more marginalised and frustrated for being stuck in a state that controls information.

OneIndia News