The Live Indian Entertainment Blog

Google is eying a departure from China on April 10th, according to a report in The China Business News. The report came less than a week after a FT report that said that Google was 99.9 percent certain to leave China.

The site quoted an anonymous sales associate as saying (translated):

"I have received information saying that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google."

Google first threatened China with a halt to its censoring of its search results in mid-January. The company did this as a result of what Google called an attack on its infrastructure, originating from Chinese authorities. The hacking was an attempt to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said:

"I think Google is serious about this and I think their reputation would be damaged by capitulation. I thought this was pretty inevitable from the beginning, considering how both parties have made pretty firm statements. It doesn't mean that a new arrangement cannot be made in a year or two, but it will require at least the appearance of compromise on both sides."

Since the initial report in January, Google has since been negotiating with the Chinese government, in an attempt to find a way to continue operating in the country. It's rumored, however, that those talks are close to breaking down.