知
情人士透露，谷歌(Google Inc.)计划在几周内停止审查中国网页搜索结果，但公司称不太可能完全撤出中国。这位了解谷歌与中国政府对话情况的知情者说，谷歌有可能和中国不同部委单独签署协议，让它在中国境内拥有一个适用于不同情况的"拼接型"协议。该知情者说，这是一个让谷歌不至于百分之百撤离中国的办法。
谷歌首席执行长施密特(Eric Schmidt)本周在阿布扎比的一个媒体会议上说，谷歌现在正与中国政府就其在华业务的未来命运展开谈判，很快会有结果。
双方对话的焦点是谷歌能否在不过滤部分搜索结果的情况下运营其中国搜索引擎Google.cn。谷歌在1月份时宣布计划停止审查中文网页的搜索结果。公司称将与中国政府讨论如何运营未经过滤的搜索引擎，但也承认此事可能意味着公司将不得不关闭Google.cn，以及在中国的办公室。
该知情人说，此那时起，谷歌与中国政府之间的对话就有时顺畅有时遇阻，和不同部委间的谈判进展程度也各不相同。这位知情者说，此事并不像每个人都希望的那样直截了当。
该知情人说，谷歌看起来有可能和具体部委签署不同的协议。举例来说，谷歌有可能在北京和其他受中央政府影响较大的地方被禁止从事某些活动，但政府可能对南方省市显得网开一面。
中国政府要求网络搜索引擎过滤掉特定政治言论或色情内容等结果。自从谷歌在2006年启用了中文搜索引擎google.cn之后，就一直对不得不审查搜索结果颇有微词。当时谷歌表示，通过其搜索引擎增强人们获取信息的能力，这一点比必须过滤某些搜索结果的代价更重要。
据研究公司易观国际(Analysys International)称，以收入计，谷歌去年第四季度占据了中国搜索市场35.6%的市场份额。这一数值一直稳步上升，但仍落后于中国百度公司(Baidu Inc.) 58.4%的市场份额。
哈佛大学法学院(Harvard University Law School)柏克曼网路与社会中心(Berkman Center for Internet & Society)联席主任齐特林(Jonathan Zittrain)说，如果谷歌不能与中国政府就google.cn事宜达成协议，它将很可能不得不把运营这一网站的设备和员工撤出中国大陆。
谷歌公司预计，即便中国政府强迫其关闭Google.cn或阻止中国网民访问这个网站，它也能在中国保留其研究机构等其它业务。谷歌公司约有700名在华员工。
并不是所有的人都对谷歌决定停止过滤搜索结果的决定表示欢迎。美中政策基金会(U.S.-China Policy Foundation)联合主席王冀(Wang Chi)说，谷歌最好还是在中国任命新领导人之前继续保持当前的作法。中国预计将于2012年进行领导人换届。新的中国领导人可能会比当前的政府更愿意允许中国存在未经过滤的搜索引擎。
谷歌的决定在一定程度上是由谷歌公司受到的一次网络攻击引发的。谷歌追踪到这次网络攻击来自中国。据知情人士透露，在受到攻击之后，谷歌公司的高管们就是否改变其在中国的行事方法展开了争论。
上述人士称，施密特(Schmidt)最初主张谷歌保留在中国的搜索引擎，因为这将促进中国政治体制的开放。但谷歌的创始人之一布林(Sergey Brin)认为，公司已经进行过尝试，而且不能证明审查搜索结果的作法是正确的。
Ben Worthen / Siobhan Gorman
（更新完成）
Google Inc. could stop censoring its Web-search results in China within weeks, said people familiar with the matter, but the company isn't likely to withdraw from the country entirely.
Google may end up making individual agreements with different Chinese ministries that give it a patchwork arrangement throughout the country, said one person familiar with the talks. 'There will be a way for Google to not pull out 100%,' this person said.
Google is negotiating with the Chinese government over its future in the country, Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said this week. 'Something will happen soon,' he said at a media conference in Abu Dhabi.
At issue is whether the Mountain View, Calif., company can operate its Chinese search engine, Google.cn, without filtering out some results. Google said in January it planned to stop censoring that site. It said it would talk to the Chinese government about operating an unfiltered search engine but that it was aware the decision 'may well mean having to shut down google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.'
Since then, the talks between Google and China have ebbed and flowed and the company has made more progress with some government ministries than others, said the person familiar with the discussions. 'It's not going to be quite as clear cut as everybody has hoped,' this person said.
It is looking likely that Google will make agreements with specific ministries, this person said. For example, Google could be prohibited from certain activities in Beijing and areas where the central government exerts significant influence, but the government may be more lenient about activities in China's southern provinces, the person said.
The Chinese government requires that Web search engines filter out some results, such as certain political speech and pornography. Google has expressed discomfort with having to censor search results since it launched google.cn in 2006. Back then it said the increased access to information made possible by its search engine outweighed the cost of having to filter out some results.
Google had a 35.6% share of the Chinese search market by revenue in the fourth quarter, according to research company Analysys International. That figure has grown steadily, but still trails China's Baidu Inc., which had 58.4% of the market.
If Google can't reach a deal with the Chinese government over google.cn, it would likely have to move the equipment and staff that run the site out of mainland China, said Jonathan Zittrain, co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Law School.
Even if the Chinese government forces Google to shut down Google.cn or prevents Chinese Web users from accessing the site, the company expects it could maintain other operations there, such as a research facility. Google has about 700 employees in China.
Google's decision to stop filtering its search results isn't universally welcomed. Wang Chi, co-chair of the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, said Google would be better off maintaining its current practice until China appoints new leaders, which is expected to happen in 2012. Those leaders may be more willing to allow an unfiltered search engine than the current regime.
The decision was prompted in part by a cyber attack on Google that the company traced to China. In the aftermath of that attack, Google's top executives debated whether to change its approach to China, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Schmidt initially advocated for Google to maintain its search engine in China as it could help open up the Chinese regime, these people said. Google co-founder Sergey Brin argued the company had already tried that and couldn't justify censoring search results.
Ben Worthen / Siobhan Gorman
Google may end up making individual agreements with different Chinese ministries that give it a patchwork arrangement throughout the country, said one person familiar with the talks. 'There will be a way for Google to not pull out 100%,' this person said.
Google is negotiating with the Chinese government over its future in the country, Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said this week. 'Something will happen soon,' he said at a media conference in Abu Dhabi.
At issue is whether the Mountain View, Calif., company can operate its Chinese search engine, Google.cn, without filtering out some results. Google said in January it planned to stop censoring that site. It said it would talk to the Chinese government about operating an unfiltered search engine but that it was aware the decision 'may well mean having to shut down google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.'
Since then, the talks between Google and China have ebbed and flowed and the company has made more progress with some government ministries than others, said the person familiar with the discussions. 'It's not going to be quite as clear cut as everybody has hoped,' this person said.
It is looking likely that Google will make agreements with specific ministries, this person said. For example, Google could be prohibited from certain activities in Beijing and areas where the central government exerts significant influence, but the government may be more lenient about activities in China's southern provinces, the person said.
The Chinese government requires that Web search engines filter out some results, such as certain political speech and pornography. Google has expressed discomfort with having to censor search results since it launched google.cn in 2006. Back then it said the increased access to information made possible by its search engine outweighed the cost of having to filter out some results.
Google had a 35.6% share of the Chinese search market by revenue in the fourth quarter, according to research company Analysys International. That figure has grown steadily, but still trails China's Baidu Inc., which had 58.4% of the market.
If Google can't reach a deal with the Chinese government over google.cn, it would likely have to move the equipment and staff that run the site out of mainland China, said Jonathan Zittrain, co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Law School.
Even if the Chinese government forces Google to shut down Google.cn or prevents Chinese Web users from accessing the site, the company expects it could maintain other operations there, such as a research facility. Google has about 700 employees in China.
Google's decision to stop filtering its search results isn't universally welcomed. Wang Chi, co-chair of the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, said Google would be better off maintaining its current practice until China appoints new leaders, which is expected to happen in 2012. Those leaders may be more willing to allow an unfiltered search engine than the current regime.
The decision was prompted in part by a cyber attack on Google that the company traced to China. In the aftermath of that attack, Google's top executives debated whether to change its approach to China, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Schmidt initially advocated for Google to maintain its search engine in China as it could help open up the Chinese regime, these people said. Google co-founder Sergey Brin argued the company had already tried that and couldn't justify censoring search results.
Ben Worthen / Siobhan Gorman
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