China expects Google to follow rules

The saga of Google versus China may soon be ending. The confrontation started when Google revealed that it had been the target of a successful hack that originated within China. At the time, Google said that it was considering vacating the Chinese market over the attack and repeated other attempts to hack its servers and mail accounts.

Ultimately, the U.S. government became involved and sought to get China to help fight the increasing number of cyberattacks originating within the communist country. Google later announced that it planned to stop censoring its search results in China. Uncensoring the search results is a violation of Chinese law.

Reuters reports that China today issued a warning to Google as talks between it and Google are seemingly ending. A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Yao Jian said, "On entering the Chinese market in 2007, it clearly stated that it would respect Chinese law. We hope that whether Google Inc continues operating in China or makes other choices, it will respect Chinese legal regulations. Even if it pulls out, it should handle things according to the rules and appropriately handle remaining issues."

Yau also says that Google leaving China will have no effect on foreign investments in China. Google has already said that it fears uncensoring the search results on its Chinese site could adversely affect the workers at Google's Chinese offices. Chinese officials are about as likely to allow Google to uncensor its search results as Steve Jobs is to start using a Windows Phone 7 device. Odds are these are the last days of Google China unless Google has a rapid change of heart on censoring its search results.