National Review Online, February 2, 2006
The indignant condemnations came quickly for Google. Last week, news surfaced that the company was blocking access to certain politically sensitive terms and websites on its new China site. Since then, Congressman Chris Smith (R., N.J.) has accused Google — which boasts “Don’t Be Evil” as its corporate motto — of enabling evil. Reporters Without Borders has denounced Google for hypocrisy. Pundits have lambasted Google for kowtowing to a corrupt, authoritarian regime.
But Washington too, knows quite a bit about doing business with this corrupt, authoritarian regime. It was only in 2000 that Congress granted China Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR), which paved the way for China to enter the World Trade Organization and for U.S. businesses to deal more seamlessly with this corrupt, authoritarian regime.
