After Google began shuttling Chinese users to an uncensored search via a Hong Kong Web site, China’s government officials took quick action to block the site from China’s mainland users.
According The New York Times, Google closed its search in China as a stand against the strong government censorship of the Internet, a move that has pushed the issue back into the public eye, much to China’s outrage.
(More on Techland: Google Offering Uncensored Search to China Via Hong Kong)
But expect more than a few blocks to try to teach Google a lesson. China’s largest cell phone company, China Mobile, is expected to cancel their deal with Google, which is used by millions each day. China Unicom is also expected to cancel their production of a mobile device that was set to run Google’s Android platform. Other Web portals have already killed their Google-powered search engines.
For now, it looks like Google employees in Beijing are still reporting to work, though all Google.cn users are still immediately redirected to google.com.hk. The largest question now, is what will happen to Google’s other features operating under the .cn url, as Google’s license to publish content online will expire in the next few weeks.
(More on Techland: Google Uncovers Cyber Attack, Threatens to Exit China)
The fight’s not over yet, folks.