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Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Mar. 19 – There are unconfirmed reports that Google will exit the China market by April. If it is true, then this may have positive implications for a variety of regional industries and academic institutions. It may also prove in time to be a monumental error by the Chinese government in terms of promoting and developing its academia, intellectual, research and development facilities.
State-controlled internet in China that bars access to sites it deems harmful will almost certainly hinder online research and communication with academics in a number of fields, especially within new technologies in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and physics. Unless the Chinese government can be very precise with regards to the maintenance of its firewall, it is likely to result in disillusionment among Chinese specialists who find their ability to access overseas data impaired. With a huge population, China’s intelligentsia are a vital component of projecting the country forward in new disciplines and sciences. The best are not going to be content to sit behind a closed security screen.
India, which has a huge infrastructure for academic excellence, is well poised to gain from this. Already extremely well-positioned in the IT sector and with renowned expertise in a number of new technologies, the country can offer a massive platform for academic research into specific Asian and technological issues. These may vary from genetic research for medicines and the study of specific regional diseases, to new frontiers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and the sciences. In the wake of Google’s exit, China has lost a fairly vibrant communications tool to the outside world. If India is able to woo some of the best academics and R&D centers from China, it may yet profit from what could transpire to be a turning point in China’s social experiment with global integration.
March 20th, 2010 at 2:22 am
I wonder how this will play out in relation to dozens of universities being derecognised recently, including the premier architectural college, SPA in Delhi. As well as the fact that universities are bleeding present and future staff to the private sector or to other countries.
March 20th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
@AIR, India has just liberalized its education sector to allow foreign participation im it by foreign Universities, so it will play out very well I feel. See India Briefing : http://www.india-briefing.com/news/education-industry-opens-to-foreign-universities-2142.html/ Thanks – Chris
March 21st, 2010 at 4:06 am
Google may become the British East India Company which wanted to control India’s sovereignty…
March 21st, 2010 at 5:05 am
u guys hav no idea what’s actually barred in china, right? i go often to china and the vast majority of international sites (BBC, CNN, science sites, etc) are available. what’s NOT available are pornography, sites by taiwan critical of china, fringe political sites, etc. how exactly are those sites going to TECHNOLOGICALLY HINDER the country?
did u know china has the MOST WEBSITES in the world? why do most chinese need to even visit all these outside sites when they have many more sites available to them?
March 21st, 2010 at 10:05 am
India still have ways to go before that happen.China is an united country with a formidable infrastructure.India is a country with tribal conflict,holly caw blocking highways.
If India want to defeat china, it need to put two steps in the future, not just one.China sacrifices all old traditions that hinder its advancement .India should do the same.
And they should also do something about the personal hygiene of its millions workers because foreigners will have hard time collaborating with Indians.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@billgatedropout: Ha ha. Hilarious, but no.
@John, I live partially in China and have done for over 20 years, so yes I know a little of what its like.
@Dmitri, Its not a question of one defeating the other. As for personal hygiene, you’ve never experienced a Beijing taxi driver after an afternoon on the garlic and baijiu.
Thanks for your comments – Chris
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:30 am
“India, which has a huge infrastructure for academic excellence”
What? This is diametrically the opposite of what Indian academics, intellectuals, informed mediapersons, students, activists and organizations that study such things have been saying. India has one of the worst infrastructures for academic excellence. It has great potential but that’s always been the problem: it’s never converted to reality. It is well known that a huge percentage (>50%) of Indian graduates are considered un-employable and need to undergo special training after graduation just so they can be employed.
I think you’re right in saying it might benefit India if Google exits China, but there’s a good chance the political madness that dogs India will make sure this doesn’t happen.
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Google’s Future will certainly be in India. China had 10 year head start but India is modernizing rapidly whereas China has reached it’s modern limits. I’d say give India another 10 years and then there will be competition. Too bad China is choosing to isolate itself from the rest of the world. 1 step forward 2 steps back HAHA
March 26th, 2010 at 9:22 am
China certainly has goofed up on this one. Hacking into Gmail servers, technology thefts etc. The eventual biggest loser will be China. When is China going to realize that they have to respect international rules for its own progress ? Free access to outside Internet is crucial for development of international-quality human capital – one area where India is ahead of China.
As for India, I dont see what ground-breaking advantage Google or India is going to gain from Google’s China exit. Google is already the market leader in India. There are no desi search engines which can challenge Google (like Baidu). Apart from the gratification derived from bruising the Chinese ego, I dont see Google making any real profit. One must also see how cleverly Google is masking their failure to secure the market share & making irrelevant noise about human rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_Internet_users
India has one serious impediment which must be addressed by our Intelligentsia. English is both India’s boon and bane. China’s internet usage is 26% of pop. India’s is 7%. Since the Chinese dont have English advantage, an entire Chinese-based Internet eco system evolved & was well adapted by a quarter of the population. Since the educated demographic of India is well educated in English, the eco system for Indian languages based Internet did not evolve. Since the number of English speakers in India is 150M, theoretically speaking, the number of Internet users cannot exceed 150M => 12.5%. If we dont seriously take any measures to address this, India will be shaded along with African countries for a long long time.
On the positive side, Indian internet usage is still waiting for the right strategy to knock the flood gates. Like in mobile phone industry, the right strategy was arrived at and the usage grew exponentially. India Inc & the Intelligentsia must look at this direction and evolve appropriate strategies/technologies.
March 31st, 2010 at 5:34 pm
@Armchair Guy: You’re right about the academic institutions in India. Worthy, and learned, without a doubt. But ask them how to action any of their ideas and they are stumped. They may know the answers, but fail to understand the full implications of the questions. Well said – Thanks Chris
April 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 am
@Armchair Guy:
Its true that lower end of the academic spectrum is substandard. Nevertheless, India has shown progress. The lower 50% may need special training, true. But dont you see that the other 50% (250,000 ?) is well employable ? This 50% is numerically well above than the total output of any other country other than China. I have also read reports that the number of “employable” is even more lower in China. So, that would definitely put India in the top spot.
As for “political madness” (?) in India, you must note that the top tech companies, including Google, already have offices in multiple locations in India. Its just a question of renting some more office space & hiring more people. I dont see how the bureaucracy would impede such basic operations. And the company in question – Google – has total workforce of about 20,000. So, it boils down to just hiring may be 500 more people in India. I’m sure that there are plenty of available talent in the top 50% who could easily fill the gap.