WASHINGTON -- The White House said Monday it was "disappointed" that Google could not reach a deal with Beijing, after the Internet giant announced it was no longer censoring its search engine in China.
"We are disappointed that Google and the Chinese government were unable to reach an agreement that would allow Google to continue operating its search services in China on its Google.cn website," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement.
"Google made its decision based on what it believed was in its interest," he added, noting the White House respects the search engine's decision and was informed of it before the company made its announcement to the public.
President Barack Obama's administration has previously raised its concerns about the matter with the Chinese government, Hammer recalled, stressing that US-China ties were "mature enough to sustain differences."
The administration is "committed to Internet freedom and... opposed to censorship," he added. "While we seek to expand cooperation on issues of mutual interest with China, we will candidly and frankly address areas of disagreement."
In announcing its decision to stop censoring its search engine in China and redirect mainland Chinese users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong, Google said it intended to continue research and development work in China and maintain a sales presence there. China was quick to criticize the company for being "totally wrong" and having "violated its written promise," according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, which cited an official in charge of the Internet bureau of the State Council Information Office.
Google's lifting of censorship on Google.cn came a little over two months after the Mountain View, California-based company said it had been the victim of cyberattacks originating from China.
AFP
