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Source: Reuters -
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China has pledged to punish hackers who attacked Google if there
is evidence to prove it, but said it has yet to receive any
complaint from the world's top search engine.
Google sent shockwaves across business and political circles in
January when it declared it would stop censoring Chinese search
results, and threatened to pull out of China - the world's largest
online community with 384 million users at the end of last year -
over hacking and censorship concerns.
Google had never filed a report to the Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology over the cyber attacks or sought
negotiations; Vice Minister Miao Wei was quoted as saying by state
news agency Xinhua late on Saturday.
"If Google has had evidence that the attacks came from China, the
Chinese government will welcome them to provide the information and
will severely punish the offenders according to the law," Miao
said.
"We never support hacking attacks because China also falls victim
to hacking attacks," he said.
Google also never informed the ministry that it was planning to
withdraw from China, Miao added, speaking on the sidelines of the
annual session of parliament.
"If Google decides to continue its business in China and abides by
China's laws, it's welcome to stay," he said, vowing to continue
providing a sound investment environment for foreign investors and
protect their legitimate rights.
"If the company chooses to withdraw from the Chinese market, it
must go through certain procedures according to the law and
regulations and deal with customers' problems that may
arise."
A Google spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Last Friday Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li
Yizhong said China was in consultations with Google to resolve the
issue.
Li did not elaborate.
The dispute about Internet censorship has added to tensions over
issues ranging from trade and the Chinese currency, to US arms sale
to self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, and a recent
meeting between US President Barack Obama and Tibet's exiled
spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The hacking issue made headlines again in late February after
reports in the Western media that the attacks had been traced to
two schools in China, and the writer of the spy-ware used had been
identified as a Chinese security consultant in his 30s with
government links.
The Chinese government has denied Google's accusation that the
hackers were based in China, calling the claim groundless.
