We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.”

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

直到亲眼看到了official blog上的这些话，我才相信了被传得沸沸扬扬的谷歌离开中国的传闻。我不自知何时产生这样的思维定势：当面对某个问题的抉择，周围的人乃至媒体一边倒的支持某一立场，而这种立场又没有什么确信无疑的普世价值观作为支持的话，我往往会假想它的对立面是自己支持的，并找出支持的理由。有些问题，经过透彻的分析与研究，你可以最终得出到底谁对谁错；但还有些问题，即使经过了周全的分析，最终的结果也无非是从这个角度讲是这样对，从那个角度讲是那样对。我想对于谷歌的离去或许就属于这种问题。

Google扬言欲与中国政府谈判，以找到合理的解决方案，矛头直指中国的言论自由。正如上面所说的，我可以作为一个普通网民诉苦自己上网越来越不方便了，这给我造成了伤害。但我无法断言中国这样做是对是错。因为我缺乏足够多的论据。我身边可以给我支持的论据大多来自这个网络本身，这些来自被过滤过的网络本身的材料，本来就不能使人有周全的判断。原来并不是面对一个问题的AB选项，我必须选一个。面临任何这样的选择题，我都有第三个选项，那就是AB都不选。不选的原因不是不敢选，而是太谨慎太负责任，而是自己也不知道真相是什么。

其实，绝大多数网友对浏览自由的欲求远大于言论自由。芸芸草根们，恐怕并不是每个人都要发表什么危害他人的观点，我们需求更多的只是能够接受来自世界各地的卓越的互联网服务。但可惜的是，政府要对言论自由加以管制的话，最有效的方法就是先控制浏览自由。这些种种的现实难免与Google的企业价值观相悖。我认为企业发展的终极形态其实可以和个人效用吻合，企业也追求效用最大化。Google跟中国的翻脸，你可以说是它不追求这百分之三十的利益而选择企业信念，你也可以说是它为了保存企业整体形象以获得更大利益。或许很少人直到被阉割的谷歌中国已经让Google在北美的口碑有所下降以致其利益的损失。

另外，谷歌走了就是谷歌走了。你们应当知道，Google从没有彻彻底底的降临过，所以即使这个赝品也给我们带来了效用，它的离去既是某种程度上价值观的坚持，又是某种程度上利益的追逐，两者是同一的。