AP Business Writer, Bruce Meyerson

By most accounts, Nike Inc. has improved work conditions at foreign-owned plants that make the company's sneakers. Yet say the word ``sweatshop,'' and many people instantly think of Nike.

This is the main risk that Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. run with their rationalizations on how to do business in China., a market that no company in its right mind would want to boycott.

Hence, all four technology companies have concluded that it's the better of two evils to tailor their products to the Chinese government's censorship demands. That way, they contend, the Chinese people will at least have more access to the Web and information than they would otherwise.

That rationale was attacked Wednesday in Congress, where members of a House panel blistered with oversimplified indignation at officials from the companies. There was little acknowledgment that Washington's policies on China are similarly pocked with compromise and rationalization rather than unwavering principle.

Even so, it's disingenuous for the companies to insist, as they did at the hearing, that they face a black-and-white, stay-or-go type of predicament.

These are some of the most recognizable names in the technology industry. It's reasonable to suggest that the Chinese government, mindful of its image on the world economic stage, would rather avoid the spectacle of the public hissy fit that none of these companies seems willing to throw. While there's no guarantee Google and the others wouldn't be shown the exit, such a move by China wouldn't play too well in trade negotiations.

The Council on Foreign Relations has a series of Q&A in the NYT about the operations of U.S. Internet companies in China which are attracting concern in Congress after years of complaints from free speech and human rights advocates about these firms aiding Beijing's ability to censor content.

Charles Cooper: As far as Washington drama goes, this didn't rise to the level of the McCarthy hearings. But the stern lecture delivered to the technology industry during a House hearing on the Internet in China earlier in the week underscored the futility of this increasingly stale debate.

In light of recent actions by major IT companies doing business in China (Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco, and Google), their impact on human rights, and widespread media and US government scrutiny, Human Rights In China has been monitoring and developing resources to promote a constructive and informed debate, including resources on the Yahoo/Shi Tao case and the censorship by Google in its new China search engine.


* Yahoo/Shi Tao Case Highlight
* Google.cn: Not too late for corporate leadership
* Open statement from Beijing investigative blogger Anti

Focused on the human rights consequences of the China business practices of Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco, and Google, the hearing was convened by the Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations and chaired by Christopher Smith (R-NJ).

HRIC’s written testimony can be viewed online. HRIC's oral testimony responded to claims given in the testimonies of the company respresentatives and also presented recommendations to both the Committee and the companies for moving forward. The Congressional Hearing can be viewed online.