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Updated Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:17 am TWN, By Frank Ching, Special to The China Post

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Web giant vs. global superpower

Google Inc. apparently tried to rally other companies that had been subjected to such cyber attacks but was unsuccessful. Yahoo, however, issued a statement saying that it “stands aligned” with Google in condemning Chinese cyber attacks. For that, it was resoundingly criticized by its Chinese partner, the Alibaba Group, for being “reckless given the lack of facts in evidence.”

It is difficult to trace the source of Internet attacks and, while Google may have strong suspicions, it apparently does not have incontrovertible evidence that the Chinese government is responsible.

China has been suspected as the source of numerous cyber attacks, not only in the U.S. but in Europe and elsewhere.

In fact, India's national security adviser, M.K. Narayanan, was quoted in The Times as saying that his office and other Indian government departments were also targeted on December 15, the same day that Google and other American organizations were targeted.

A confidential FBI report, recently leaked, alleged that China has 30,000 military cyberspies, plus more than 150,000 private-sector computer experts.

The report, cited by an article in The Daily Beast, an American news reporting and opinion website, likened the potential destructive power of cyber attacks to weapons of mass destruction. The article said that the mission of the Chinese cyberspies “is to steal American military and technological secrets and cause mischief in government and financial services.”

China has never acknowledged taking part in cyber attacks. In fact, after Google made its allegations, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded: “Chinese laws prohibit any form of cyber attacks, including hacking.”

The Alibaba Group, no doubt, is extremely aware of the sensitivities of the Chinese government. The fact that it publicly distanced itself from Yahoo, its business partner, suggests that China is not about to compromise in any negotiations with Google.

Moreover, Google is turning into an issue in Sino-American relations. The U.S. has already called on China for an explanation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying that Google's allegations raised “very serious concerns.”

But Beijing has already made it clear that it will not back down. Since the Communist party will not allow the lifting of censorship and the Chinese government will not admit to launching cyber attacks on Google or anyone else, even if China agrees to hold negotiations with the Internet company, deadlock is the most likely outcome.

Google's days in China, it appears, are numbered. This will result in a loss of earnings for the company, a loss of face for the Chinese government and a narrowing of information horizons for the Chinese people.

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