Google stops censoring China searches

Google has stopped censoring its China website and starting today Google China internet traffic traffic will be automatically rerouted to Google Hong Kong, fulfilling a pledge to stop censoring searches as required by China. By relying on Hong Kong, Google is trying to find a way to fight censorship laws while still keeping a presence in mainland China. The approach may not work for long because the government will likely block the Hong Kong site just as it has before with the main Google.com page. Google challenged the Chinese government in January by threatening to allow all search results to be shown on its China Web site, including references to Tibet and the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Google has about 600 employees in China, and Google.cn included the search engine, Google News and Google Images.

Digital Inspiration blog has photos of the Google office in Beijing, with flowers and wreaths.