Google takes on the Chinese goverment!

The words "banging", "Head", "Brick" & "Wall" spring to mind.. no point in fighting the government in China you will not win.

Best case scenario, Google pull out, China does not care, Google do no business there.

Worst case scenario, Google pull out, China does not care, Google do no business there and a couple of execs take a bus ride and are never seen again.

and a big wall at that!

I've been following the story for a bit now. My buddy & I have had a friendly wager on who would "win" the battle:
He said Google was among the world's most powerful companies - and was inclined that they would prevail.

I chose China on the basis that even a relatively minor country can break a company if that is their intent because they get to call the shots and can limit the company's ability to conduct business in the first place (which is really the premise of this entire story).

I assume you've seen the story a couple months ago where Google (along with some other select companies) were attacked by China hackers:
Official Google Blog: A new approach to China

China has a big population and it is a market that is only going to get bigger (if allowed). Other companies have succeeded - you need to play with the rules of the country you're working in. If you don't agree then pull out like Google have.

The one winner out of it is China's most popular (& censored) search engine, www.baidu.com