China Blocks YouTube and Google remains Ambitious

China Blocks YouTube and Google remains Ambitious
Internet giant Google announced in late March that YouTube was blocked in China, the New York Times reported on March 24. According to the Xinhua news agency, a fabricated video depicting Tibetan being brutally beat by Chinese police after riots in the Tibetan Capital, Lhasa last year made by supporters of the Dalai Lama was to blame.
While China routinely blocks individual videos on YouTube, it is not common for the entire site to be disabled. It is speculated that the blocking of YouTube is in conjunction with China’s effort to heighten its Internet Censorship in recent months. The site also hosts videos about the Tienanmen Square protests and many other subjects that Chinese authorities find objectionable.
Despite this block, it is interesting to note that Google, just a few days later, on March 30, announced that it had begun to offer in China links to free music downloads, a service it does not offer anywhere else in the world. China is one of the few markets where Google is behind. A blockade of its video-sharing site will not deter the internet giant from market expansion in China.
China can do what it wants. The point is: it is too great an internet market. Profit/China wins.
Rachel Clement (China)