After months of disputes, tough negotiations with the Chinese Government and finally brutal hacker attacks on Google (presumably supported by the Chinese Government), Google decides to take the offense strategy and redirect all Chinese users to its unrestricted/uncensored Hong Kong site (www.google.com.hk). The Chinese Government is furious, but evidently this step is legal. There are talks that China may take actions to phase out Google from Hong Kong as well.
Out of Google's $24bil profit last year, the Chinese market contributed a relatively small amount ($400mil). However, this incident is not just about business interests; rather, it touches the issue of freedom of speech and information. Let's hope Google stays in China and no other countries will follow suit.
Below is a snapshot of what Google services and products have been available to Chinese users:
