First published: 23rd March 2010
Google has shut down its Chinese search engine, google.cn, and is redirecting visitors to its Hong Kong-based engine, google.com.hk, thereby providing, arguably, the best publicity for the "One Country, Two Systems" policy since the term was coined by Deng Xiaoping in 1984.
The disagreement between internet search giant Google and the Chinese government has grabbed headlines around the world since mid-January, when, apparently triggered by an alleged Chinese cyber attack on its internal systems, Google announced it would work towards not censoring the search results it provided in China. By redirecting visitors from google.cn to the uncensored google.com.hk, Google has brought into prominence the difference between Hong Kong and Mainland China. Now the world knowns that, while most users in the most populous country of internet users are restricted to Government-censored search results, the tiny minority in the part of China called Hong Kong have unrestricted search.
The move might also act as a reminder to the powers in Beijing that Hong Kong has remained a prosperous, stable city, despite free and unrestricted access to information, however "unsuitable" it may be.
The benefits of being redirected to google.com.hk for Mainland users seem less certain, as it is highly likely that google.com.hk will be added to the blocklist of the Great Firewall. Google now provides a page to track the availability of its service from Mainland China.