Internet disruptions raise tensions for Google in China

In the paper today:

By Cecilia Kang

Several Internet disruptions in Asia this week portend what could be a long standoff between China and foreign search giants.

On Tuesday, Internet hackers hit Vietnamese-speaking computer users in an attempt to squelch criticism of a controversial Chinese-backed mining project in Vietnam, according to Google. And foreign journalists covering China and Taiwan reported that their Yahoo e-mail accounts were recently hacked.

The episodes this week came amid growing anxiety over the Chinese government's response to Google's decision to shut down its search engine there and reroute traffic to an uncensored site based in Hong Kong. On Monday, Google said it appeared that China had temporarily blocked mainland users from accessing its Hong Kong site.

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