Google: stay in China!

Dear Google

I know you've had been through a rather bad period in your relationship with China.

First of all you get accused of allowing the Chinese authorities to access details of dissidents' emails and are accused of complicity with human rights abuses

Now you are thinking of ending your relationship because of allegations of hacking into some of the accounts in China.

But please do not get into a huff and leave this relationship. Despite all the limitations you have had to endure in your relationship with China, your presence is an important element in the process of changing China.

China is not the same place it was 2 decades ago.

There is more awareness of issues like human rights; corruption is less marked; and labour conditions are improving. Certainly, there's a very long way to go, but the rest of that journey only comes about through engagement with the Chinese, not by ostracising them.

So Google: painful though it may be, your relationship with China is worth saving...