Cui Xiaohuo reports in the China Daily:
Internet giant Google must obey Chinese law if it still wishes to continue to operate in the country, said Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
“If Google still plans to continue its operations in China, it must abide by Chinese laws and respect the wills of Chinese Internet users,” the minister told reporters on Monday during a plenary session of the annual legislative meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
Also from the PC World:
The remarks came after ministry head Li Yizhong earlier said China was talking with Google to settle the row, according to Reuters, marking the first Chinese government confirmation of talks with the company.
Li was not cited as giving details and his remark could have referred to talks between Google and a different branch of the Chinese government. But Chinese state media on Monday appeared further to play down Li’s statement by citing him declining to comment on whether authorities were still in talks with Google.
“On this matter, Google knows it best itself,” he was quoted as saying in the state-run China Daily.
Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The remarks by the IT vice minister appeared partly aimed at preventing harm from the Google row to U.S. ties. The Google problem is a “technical” one that “has not risen to the level of affecting China-U.S. relations,” Miao was cited as saying.
