Should American Government Intervene in the Google Incident?

Published in ZaoBao
(Singapore) on 15 January 2010
by 7 Hornbill (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Tim Lim. Edited by .

Edited by Laura Berlinsky-Schine

Integrity should be a core value of any company. Strict enforcement of integrity is paramount to ensure a company does not short sight itself with short term benefit and forgo long term viability. One example of such companies is Google.

Google’s core values are deep rooted in American cultures, which differ greatly from the Chinese ones. Like many companies from western countries, Google needs to make necessary adjustments to adapt to Chinese cultures and values.

Chinese companies faced the same hurdles when trying to make inroads to the American and European markets. Adjustments have to be made in order to survive. It’s like an ancient Chinese saying, “One has to follow the local rules when visiting the rural villages.”

Google China’s contents lagged behind Baidu’s since it first entered the Chinese market. The shortcomings were due to its lack of cultural understanding. The operation was further handicapped after Kai-Fu Lee left Google China.

Faced with declining operating performance, Google announced that it may decide to withdraw from the Chinese market. While a company is free to formulate its own market strategy, this announcement has drawn the attention of those in the American government. Huanqiu reported, “In a Senate hearing on Jan 13th, many senior senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties expressed concerns about Google’s possible withdrawal from the Chinese market.” American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made her strong opinions known.

Many people who embraced free market economy ideology were confused by the voice of concern. U.S. government should have no influence on a private company’s decision. A direct government intervention would be unfair to Google’s competitors. It’s unavoidable for companies to have ups and downs, and some companies inevitably fail to survive a down cycle. Google deserves no special treatment from the government.

Google’s plea to the American State Department is not justified. In the event that Google succeeded, it could open a floodgate of U.S. companies seeking intervention when faced with difficulties in foreign operations. This brought back memories of Chinese state-own enterprises in 1980s. When the goings got tough, state-owned enterprises often sought the government’s help.

In the age of the Internet, it’s impossible for Google’s search engine to completely exit the Chinese market. Chinese users were already using Google before it officially set-up its operation in China. The main reason for Google's Chinese operation was to further tap into the gold mine of the emerging Chinese market.

As the American economy starts to turn around, there is temptation to practice trade protectionism. But let’s not forget that by setting a precedent, many more companies could emulate and seek government intervention. This could burden the U.S. government. More importantly, such practices violate the very core idea of American style market economy.


美国政府应该插手谷歌事件吗?
[2413] (2010-01-15)
君子爱财,但要取之有道。这个道就是公司的价值观。严格遵守价值观,不胡作非为,不违背良心赚钱的公司值得人们尊重,也是抗拒违法利润的诱惑,避免触犯法律红线,维持公司长久生命的法宝。
  谷歌就是这样一家公司。
  谷歌公司的价值观,自然深具美国文化底蕴,与中国价值观有相当大的差距。既然进入中国市场,就应该事先考虑到中美之间的价值观冲突,并做相应的调整,以适应中国的价值观环境。这是很多欧美跨国公司来华经营首先要考虑的问题。
  同样,中国公司进入欧美国家市场,也要考虑如何融入欧美的文化环境,所谓“入乡随俗”嘛。
  谷歌中国公司本来在中国市场做的好好的,内容竞争不过百度也情有可原,毕竟百度更懂中国人嘛,美国人看中国人总隔着一层雾,李开复离开谷歌中国以后,谷歌中国的经营状况渐走下坡路。
  于是,谷歌公司宣布未来将可能退出中国市场。退出就退出吧,这本来就是任何公司的自由,市场经济的核心理念之一就是市场进出自由。
  奇特的是,对谷歌公司的全球收缩战略,美国政府却表示高度关注。
  据环球网报道:“多名重量级、资深美国国会两党议员1月13日在美国国会的一场听证会上,对谷歌考虑退出中国市场后事件表示关注”。美国国务卿希拉里也对该事件做出了强硬表态。
  这让信奉自由市场经济理念的人们很迷惑。
  谷歌公司想退出中国市场,关美国政府什么事儿?美国政府插手谷歌事件,难道不怕对谷歌的直接竞争对手构成不正当竞争?任何公司在一个市场难免有经营好坏,高潮低潮,严重的甚至以亏损告终,彻底退出市场,难道谷歌公司非要在中国市场上龙腾虎跃美国政府才放心?
  谷歌公司也不对,你退出中国市场就退出中国市场吧,还向美国国务院告中国市场的状,难道要美国国务院做你谷歌公司在中国市场上的保镖?如果谷歌公司的诉求得到美国国务院的配合,那其他美国公司在其他国家市场上一旦日子难过,是不是都去找美国国务院诉苦?
  什么时候美国公司出现困难不去找市场,反而学八十年代中国国企找领导了?
  更何况,在互联网时代,谷歌这样的搜索引擎怎么可能彻底退出中国市场?谷歌没有在中国设点的时候,中国人就可以访问谷歌网站了。谷歌公司之所以专门设立谷歌中国,主要是想占领中文市场和直接从中国市场掘金而已。
  在美国从危机走向复苏的关键阶段,美国人搞搞贸易保护主义值得理解,就不要再直接插手谷歌公司的市场运营战略事务了,那样会很难看,而且也会让其他公司有样学样,给美国政府制造负担,更可怕的是,这种对公司经营事务直接插手的做法,将直接威胁美式市场经济的核心理念。
  文/七犀鸟
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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