Chinese Internet

Bouquets were laid in front of Google Inc.'s headquarters in China on Wednesday, a show of support for a company whose threat to exit the country rather than be party to more censorship is a dramatic shot across the bow of the Chinese Communist Party. But while Chinese cyberspace was awash with chatter about Google's gambit, state-controlled media downplayed the story, reporting that Google had been a victim of cyber attacks in China but making no mention of the company's allegations that human rights activists' e-mail accounts had been hacked.

SAN FRANCISCO - Call her Yahoo Inc.'s cheerleader in chief. In her first public remarks since taking over as the troubled Internet company's chief executive three months ago, Marissa Mayer buoyed investors with her vision for a Yahoo comeback. Yahoo shares started surging as Mayer spoke to analysts about the company's better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and plans to reinvigorate the consumer Internet company. Yahoo rose 73 cents, or nearly 5%, to $16.50 in after-hours trading.

When 3-year-old Peng Wenle vanished into the night in March 2008, his parents despaired of ever seeing him again. Although a surveillance camera had captured video of a man scooping up the youngster from a crowded street outside the family's small shop in the southern city of Shenzhen, the images were too grainy to identify the perpetrator or provide clues on where he might have fled. FOR THE RECORD A headline on an earlier online version of this story misspelled Peng Wenle's last name as Winle.

Chinese firms flush with cash have been snapping up U.S. companies at a record pace, and California has become a prime target for this investment. About $1.3 billion of Chinese money flowed into the Golden State from 2000 to 2011, according to a study released Wednesday by Rhodium Group, a New York policy research group. Much of that investment has come in just the last few years, including a record $560 million last year. The deals involved new factories, offices and other facilities as well as mergers and acquisitions of existing companies in industries such as electronics, information technology, biotech, logistics, renewable energy and consumer products.

Carol Iu writes about U.S. companies selling software to Chinese Internet companies to regulate the Internet (letter, Feb. 2). As long as U.S. companies abide by export regulations they are entitled to compete with other software companies worldwide. The more they can sell, the better for the U.S. economy. Regulation of Internet content is desirable. Microsoft Hotmail constantly eliminates pornography from e-mails. The Chinese Internet eliminates more, such as unfounded rumors and political activities.

Chinese firms flush with cash have been snapping up U.S. companies at a record pace, and California has become a prime target for this investment. About $1.3 billion of Chinese money flowed into the Golden State from 2000 to 2011, according to a study released Wednesday by Rhodium Group, a New York policy research group. Much of that investment has come in just the last few years, including a record $560 million last year. The deals involved new factories, offices and other facilities as well as mergers and acquisitions of existing companies in industries such as electronics, information technology, biotech, logistics, renewable energy and consumer products.

Comments heaping scorn on the official explanation of last week's fatal blast in a schoolhouse that killed dozens of children abruptly disappeared from Chinese Internet chat sites Saturday. The state-run New China News Agency and Premier Zhu Rongji have said that a suicide bomber set off the explosion that killed at least 42 people, most of them third- and fourth-grade students, in the remote eastern village of Fanglin.

"There are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television…. They must be really bad." In 1972, comedian George Carlin wrote a monologue titled, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." When a version of this riff was broadcast the following year on a jazz radio station, it set off a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld the right of the Federal Communications Commission to regulate indecent material on the airwaves.

Re "China enters the race," April 13 This article on former President Clinton accepting donations and travel expenses from the Chinese Internet company Alibaba shows the success of China's government in buying friends and influence in the United States. It is disingenuous for a former president to claim ignorance in that he was unaware of Shi Tao's imprisonment when such a case had been widely reported in the media. Clinton should follow the example set by Yahoo in its legal settlement with Shi Tao's family by pressing for the release of his and other Internet writers sentenced to jail for posting articles on the Internet.

The number of Web users in China soared past 500 million last year, explosive growth that has elevated Chinese Internet companies and challenged social and political discourse in the communist-controlled state. The government-run China Internet Network Information Center said Monday that the number of Web users in China grew to 513 million in December, up 12% from a year earlier. Chinese Internet giants such as search engine Baidu Inc., news portal Sina Corp. and gaming and messaging service provider Tencent Holdings added millions of users, raising the profile of the increasingly lucrative sector.

  Chinese Internet users are applauding the U.S. tech industry's Web "strike" this week to protest federal anti-piracy bills that would give Uncle Sam greater control of cyberspace. As websites including Wikipedia shut down and millions of Americans complained to lawmakers about the potential for government censorship, Chinese netizens spoke admiringly of the public rebellion. Such a display in China would be nearly impossible right now, given Beijing's tight grip on citizens' online activities.

The number of Web users in China soared past 500 million last year, explosive growth that has elevated Chinese Internet companies and challenged social and political discourse in the communist-controlled state. The government-run China Internet Network Information Center said Monday that the number of Web users in China grew to 513 million in December, up 12% from a year earlier. Chinese Internet giants such as search engine Baidu Inc., news portal Sina Corp. and gaming and messaging service provider Tencent Holdings added millions of users, raising the profile of the increasingly lucrative sector.

Images of Greek demonstrators rioting over austerity measures and Occupy Wall Street protesters scuffling with police in the U.S. appear to be worrying China's communist leaders. One of China's most senior officials has acknowledged that the souring global economy has the government on edge. According to an official New China News Agency report Saturday, China's top security chief warned provincial officials to brace for unrest if financial conditions continue to deteriorate.

DreamWorks Animation has become the second Hollywood studio to enter into a distribution agreement with China's top online video site, Youku.com. Youku said Monday that it had signed a deal with the Glendale animation studio to distribute the "Kung Fu Panda" movies in China, marking the first time that DreamWorks releases have been made available in that country through the Internet. Both of the previously released "Kung Fu Panda" films, which were hugely popular in China, will be immediately available on Youku's premium on-demand service for less than $1. The movies will subsequently be available for free viewing on Youku's Hollywood Movie Channel.

When 3-year-old Peng Wenle vanished into the night in March 2008, his parents despaired of ever seeing him again. Although a surveillance camera had captured video of a man scooping up the youngster from a crowded street outside the family's small shop in the southern city of Shenzhen, the images were too grainy to identify the perpetrator or provide clues on where he might have fled. FOR THE RECORD A headline on an earlier online version of this story misspelled Peng Wenle's last name as Winle.

"There are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television…. They must be really bad." In 1972, comedian George Carlin wrote a monologue titled, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." When a version of this riff was broadcast the following year on a jazz radio station, it set off a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld the right of the Federal Communications Commission to regulate indecent material on the airwaves.

You go, Go Daddy. Like Google Inc., the leading registrar of Internet domain names is pushing back against Chinese censorship, announcing Wednesday that it will stop selling domain names based in China. The company says the Chinese government demanded that it identify its customers, a clearly unacceptable requirement that would have allowed officials not just to block sites they didn't like but to go after the owners. Rival domain registrar Network Solutions said it has pulled out of China for the same reason.