CHINA: A Chinese Writer's View of Google's Exit

"The pressure of livelihood is  so great that putting food on the table trumps all ideals. Google may have overestimated the importance of freedom, truth, justice and righteousness in the minds of a large number of netizens. These values are not nearly as practical as picking up a 100-yuan bill on the road," states a translated text of Chinese Mainland writer and blogging icon Han Han in an 'Asia Sentinel' article by Alice Poon on Apr. 1.

Han Han added that a nation that "can put up with genetically modified grains, ditch-grown vegetables, melamine-tainted milk and junk quality immunisation slots — their capacity for tolerance is beyond your imagination and their needs are far more minimal than you think".

According to Poon, regardless of the true reasons for Google's decision to quit China, she agrees with the view that "Chinese netizens are the ones to lose out, on the technological as well as on the censorship front".

"But then if they themselves don't care to fight for their own Internet freedom, they can't expect it to be handed over to them on a plate," she says.

Click here for the full story.