If Google had abstained, and waited until conditions in China are more open, would the Chinese gov speed up reforms (desired by Chinese people) because the people want Google to enter the Chinese market? (In this case, Google’s current action is evil)

Perhaps you believe a third reality (and maybe I do too): The situation will be similar whether Google is there or not, and cashing in on the current situation is wrong. (I guess in this case, Google can skirt it’s unofficial “don’t be evil” motto by saying that the evil will exist whether Google is there or not)

The point being: I see Google’s action as “engagement”. I do not believe a statement like “the Chinese people [are] better with [Google] products than without” necessarily translates to “We’d really like to make money there, even if it does help out a repressive regime”. It seems quite possible that, instead of preserving the current regime, Google’s presence will accelerate reform.

ps. I’m no Google shill; I just want to express some feelings about the very difficult task of deciding what actions are acceptable in this sometimes very difficult world. Thanks for the post.