雙語:谷歌在華代理商致函谷歌討說法

【英文原文】

Google Partners in China Issue Plea to Web Giant
A group of Google Inc.'s partners in China have sent an impassioned plea to the Internet giant, saying their businesses are in jeopardy if Google closes its Chinese search engine and demanding to know how they will be compensated.

The letter, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, states Google hasn't given its advertising resellers in China guidance since its announcement in January that it may close its Chinese search site, . The letter says the companies have watched their business decline and worry they will be forced out of business if Google withdraws.

The message, which listed 27 Google advertising resellers in China, was sent Monday by email to John Liu, who leads Google's sales team and oversees the company's business operations in greater China, according to one of the resellers on the list, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The letter demands an explanation of how the resellers will be treated if Google has to leave China or shut down .

The companies have sales staff that focus on selling advertising that runs on Google.

'We understand that Google has its own values, but we cannot understand why, until this day, Google has not communicated with us how the matter will be solved,' the letter states.

A Google spokeswoman said the company had received the letter and was reviewing it. The letter was also posted on the Web site of China's state-run television broadcaster.

The Google reseller said the companies are 'facing operating pressure' due to the uncertainty of Google's status in China, but not all of the resellers had a part in drawing up the letter.

'We really hope Google would face up to the problems and try to find ways to solve them,' the reseller said.

Google, which has yet to follow through on an announcement in January to stop filtering results on , has been in negotiations with Chinese authorities over the extent to which it can continue operating.

The saga is being closely watched by Google users in China, which has the most Internet users of any nation and would be dominated almost entirely by easily controlled Chinese companies if Google exits the market. Analysts estimate that Google has tens of millions of users here.

Convinced the company would take action on Monday, hundreds of Google users stayed awake the entire night to monitor search results on the Web site for any indication that filters had been lifted.

Users swapped analyses of results for keyword queries like '1989 student protest,' a reference to the Tiananmen Square crackdown, because such content is considered politically sensitive in China and is often filtered.

Some users published screenshots of Google results that seemed to be uncensored, but it wasn't possible to determine what the causes of those inconsistencies were. As of Tuesday, Google's results were still censored in China.

'Many users are wondering why Google is so indecisive and some of them have lost their patience,' said Issac Mao, an independent Chinese-Internet researcher and blogger.

Google's standoff with the Chinese government has highlighted the sometimes perilous regulatory web that entangles foreign companies in the country.

China operates a licensing system, policed by regulators, that requires all foreign investors to seek approval to conduct business activities within a defined scope.

Companies that breach the terms of their license risk being closed down, which is the position in which Google now finds itself having declared it is no longer willing to censor its search results.

No area of business in China is more politically sensitive than the Internet, or more heavily regulated. China bars foreign companies from owning an 'Internet content provider' license to provide services in the country. For that, Google needed to partner with a Chinese company, which holds the ICP license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in order to provide services in China.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on the status of Google's ICP license, but said licenses are 'generally' due to be renewed this month.

Still, it is unclear to what extent the license renewal is influencing Google's decision making, if at all, according to a person familiar with Google's China plans.

Google's commercial operations also have to be registered with the Ministry of Commerce. On Tuesday, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian said Google has two companies registered, but so far the ministry hasn't received any reports regarding an exit of either company.

'If the two companies want to exit from China they will have to go through a procedure including reporting to the commerce ministry,' Mr. Yao said, citing China's foreign investment law. He didn't elaborate.

Google grapples with a slew of agencies that have a say over the Internet. These include the Ministry of Public Security, which deals with criminal activities on the Web, including political dissent; the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, responsible for broadcasting; and the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, which ensures that the media adheres to political orthodoxy.

For 'anything that has to do with the Internet, you could be facing as many as a half dozen ministries,' said David Wolf, chief executive of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing-based marketing strategy firm.

【中文譯文】

互聯網巨頭谷歌(Google)的一些在華合作伙伴聯名致函谷歌，言詞懇切地表示，如果谷歌關閉旗下的中文搜索引擎，它們的業務將陷入危險，並要求獲知谷歌對它們的補償方案。

這封《華爾街日報》看過的信中說，自1月份谷歌宣佈可能會關閉旗下中文搜索網站以來，一直沒有給在華廣告代理商任何指導。信中說，這些企業的業務量直線下滑，擔心如果谷歌退出中國，它們將被迫關門停業。

在信中列名的一位不願透露身份的代理商說，信中列出了谷歌在華的27家廣告代理商，週一通過電子郵件方式發給了谷歌銷售團隊負責人、主管大中華區業務運行的劉允。

信中要求谷歌作出解釋：如果谷歌不得不退出中國或關閉中文搜索網站，代理商們將受到怎樣的待遇。

這些企業的銷售人員專注於在谷歌上運行的廣告的銷售。

信中說，我們理解谷歌有自己的價值觀，但我們不能理解的是，直至今天，谷歌與我們之間沒有任何溝通和關於未來解決方案的談判。

谷歌勢將離華 代理商質詢如何“善後”
谷歌在華廣告代理商聯名致函谷歌說，如果谷歌關閉旗下的中文搜索引擎，它們的業務將陷入危險，並要求谷歌給代理商合理的解決方案。《華爾街日報》馬塞洛·普林斯(Marcelo Prince)報道。谷歌發言人說，該公司收到了信，正在進行研究。該信還被公佈在了中國國有電視臺的網站上。

上述未具名谷歌代理商說，由於谷歌在華狀況不確定，這些企業面臨着運營的壓力，不過並非所有的代理商都參與了信函的起草。

這位代理商說，我們真的希望谷歌能夠直面問題，並努力想辦法解決。

谷歌尚未按1月份聲明中所說的那樣停止過濾上的搜索結果。谷歌一直在與中國有關部門就繼續在華運營的範圍進行談判。

這一事件獲得了谷歌在華用戶的密切關注。中國是全球互聯網用戶最多的國家，如果谷歌退出，中國的互聯網市場將幾乎完全被容易控制的中國企業所佔據。分析人士估計，谷歌在中國有數千萬名用戶。

由於相信谷歌將在週一採取行動，數百名谷歌用戶徹夜未眠，監測谷歌網站的搜索結果，看看是否有跡象顯示過濾已經被取消了。

用戶們用“1989年學生抗議”等關鍵詞進行測試，因爲這樣的內容在中國被視爲政治敏感內容，經常會被過濾掉。

某些用戶貼出了似乎未經審查的谷歌搜索結果的截圖，但無法確定引起這種結果不一致的原因。截至週二，谷歌的搜索結果仍受中國審查。

毛向輝是位獨立的中國互聯網研究員，也是位博主，他說許多用戶不明白谷歌爲何如此缺乏決斷，部分用戶已失去耐心。

谷歌事件突顯出在華的外國公司有時會捲入危險的監管體系。

中國實行監管許可制，政策由監管層制定，要求所有的外國投資者在限定範圍內進行經營，並要事先取得批准。

如果違反許可條款，則有被停業風險。谷歌宣佈不願就其搜索結果接受審查，目前就面臨這種風險。

在中國沒有比互聯網更具政治敏感性的行業了，這個行業的管制也最嚴格。中國禁止外國公司擁有互聯網內容提供商許可（ICP），不得在中國提供相關服務。因而，谷歌必須與一家擁有中國工信部頒發的ICP許可證的中國公司合作，方獲得了在中國提供互聯網服務的資質。

谷歌一位發言人拒絕對谷歌擁有的ICP許可證發表評論，但稱許可證通常需在本月續辦。

據一位熟悉谷歌在華計劃的人士稱，許可證續辦是否影響或在何種程度上影響谷歌的決策尚不得知。

谷歌的商業運作也必須在中國商務部註冊。商務部發言人姚堅週二說，谷歌在中國有兩家註冊公司，但迄今商務部尚未接到兩家公司有意退出的報告。

姚堅說，根據中國外商投資法的規定，如果這兩家公司要從中國退出，則必須經過一定的程序，包括向商務部報告。對此他並做詳細闡述。

谷歌得與對互聯網有管理權的許多機構打交道。這些機構包括處理網絡犯罪包括政治異議的公安部、負責廣播電視的廣電部，及確保媒體政治立場正確的中宣部。

沃爾夫亞洲集團（Wolf Group Asia）是一家位於北京的市場策略公司，其首席執行長大衛•沃爾夫（David Wolf）說，對於任何與互聯網相關的事宜，可能都要與多達六七個部門打交道。