Google.cn to Be Shut

Google has drafted a detailed plan to close Google.cn, its search engine for China that complied with the government’s censorship demands—to much criticism—before announcing two months ago it could no longer obey such rules. Negotiations with the Chinese reached an impasse when China said Friday that it would not compromise on its online censorship just to keep Google in the country. Even if a decision is made soon, it will take some time before the search giant leaves because it wants to protect Chinese employees from retaliation from the government. Some employees fear a backlash from China that will make any operations there impossible. Many expected a harsh response from China when Google said it would end censorship after discovering cyberattacks involving activists’ email accounts that originated from within the country.