Google representatives met with government officials over the weekend to discuss concerns with the service of Google.cn, and its displaying of pornographic images, after authorities ordered the company to remove such search features last week.
China Central Television (CCTV) has also participated in the coverage seen as a mounting campaign to punish Google.
In Thursday''s edition of Focus, CCTV''s flagship news-analysis program, a university student named Gao Ye was interviewed and blamed Google China for having a negative impact on one of his course mates, claiming the search engine offered links to pornographic websites.
However, online posts about Gao Ye''s identity as an intern at the State-run broadcaster began to circulate the following day. A staff member working with Focus also confirmed Gao''s identify to the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily.
The exposure set off a cyber manhunt for Gao, with Web users quickly circulating his private information, including his mobilephone number, the name of the university he attends and a photo of him and his girlfriend.
To escape harassment, Gao reportedly changed his mobile number Saturday after deleting his blog a day earlier.
Many Web users said the incident not only hurt CCTV's credibility, but also makes the reports about Google look more like organized attacks rather than objective reporting. The only other people interviewed by CCTV were three teachers who shared the same opinion as Gao.
A blogger on Sohu.com, named Chezou, questioned the lack of balanced reporting, saying, "Where is Google China?" in the story.
The program was also accused of asking leading questions to an interviewee to solicit comments against Google China.
"Focus is famous for its in-depth reporting," Chezhou wrote. "But its June 18 program was nothing but biased reporting."
About half of the 3,600 Internet users polled by huanqiu.com, the Global Times' website, claimed that they believed Google China had a role, to some degree, in facilitating the spread of online pornography, while 37 percent ruled out the charge. Meanwhile, 52 percent of respondents said Google China deserves to be punished, though 40 percent held the opposite view.
FROM:people's Daily Online
