China is a country that does not admit easy generalizations. The controversy over Google is a case in point. Let's begin with Google's stated reason for ceasing to comply with Chinese Internet regulations, that is, attacks on Gmail accounts. These complaints bear more than a passing resemblance to the classic line, "I'm shocked" delivered by Claude Raines after seeing people gambling in Rick's Caf in one of Hollywood's best creations, Casablanca.

Evgeny Morozov, a blogger who works on the political effects of the Internet, has injected a welcome dose of East European cynicism in the matter in a Jan 16 post on his "Foreign Policy" tech blog. He says: "Cyber criminals in virtually every country wage cyber attacks on Gmail and other Google users".

I have been living in China for more than four years and know that practically all Chinese, even those critical of the government, are passionate about maintaining the country's territorial integrity. There are thus lots of people who need little encouragement from the government to hack into Gmail accounts of Tibetan and Xinjiang separatists.