MSNBC looks at the Google supporters who have gathered at the company’s China headquarters or elsewhere to mourn its loss:
Dozens of Chinese Netizens gathered in front of Google’s headquarters in northwestern Beijing Tuesday to bid farewell to the Internet giant by presenting tokens of their affection. One of the cards placed on top of the company’s logo outside its gate said, “In Google We Trust.” Some people held posters saying “I love Google.”
But the vigil did not go as smoothly as the Google lovers hoped. They were constantly harassed by both plainclothed and uniformed police who told them to leave and wouldn’t allow them to light their candles. A bit of bickering broke out between police and candle holders, but nothing got violent.
On Wednesday, a similar farewell party was held in Guangzhou, in southern China, just a few hours’ drive from Hong Kong. A group of IT engineers, journalists and some other professionals planned to meet at a well-known local bar to talk about Google’s pullout.
However, their meeting spot had to be changed after the bar owner was summoned by police and told he wasn’t allowed to operate that night. After their second bar was questioned by police, the group moved to a warehouse to discuss what Google’s pullout meant to Chinese Internet users.
Wen Yunchao, an outspoken Guangzhou-based blogger better known as “Beifeng,” was part of the warehouse discussion and said they wanted to commemorate event. “It’s a great loss to Google users. It’s going to be very inconvenient for us to use Google now. But I admire and praise Google’s action because they value morals more than profits.”
See also “Google Leaves China, Chinese Netizen Reactions” from chinaSMACK and John Bolton’s op-ed “Internet generation challenges China“.
