The Google controversy has fuelled debate about the degree to which foreign companies will bow to the Chinese government's censors in order to operate in the mainland's fast growing internet market of 110 million users.

An editorial in the Financial Times on January 26 said Google's agreement to censorship sacrifices its ideals.

The editorial said: 'The opening of the potentially vast Chinese market has exposed a rich seam of hypocrisy in western governments and companies. Plenty are willing to condemn human rights abuses and contemplate sanctions for insignificant markets such as Burma and Zimbabwe. Few would think of taking the same sort of action against China.'

While Google's decision has alarmed supporters of free speech, critics conceded that it has been more open about its actions in the mainland than its rivals - software giant Microsoft and US portal Yahoo - and appears less willing to co-operate with Beijing.

Last year, Microsoft launched an MSN portal that bars the use of words such as 'freedom' and 'democracy' in the names of blogs.

Yahoo also tightly controls searches, and acknowledged helping the mainland authorities to prosecute and imprison a local journalist by handing over his e-mail account information.

Unlike Yahoo, Google informs its users that the censors are at work. A tag at the bottom of its webpage reads: 'In accordance with local laws, rules and policies, some search results have not been displayed.'

In Hong Kong, where there is growing self-censorship, the Google incident is viewed with sadness and despair. This is because many Hong Kong people would like to see an open, free and democratic China.

With sustained economic growth, China is set to become an important member of the international community. Thus, it is pitiful to see such an economic giant so lacking in confidence that it has to deploy tens of thousands of web police to stop its people from accessing sensitive information on the internet.

However, there are courageous mainland journalists who try hard, under dangerous circumstances, to uphold the freedom of expression and press freedom.

In the last few months, a number of newspapers were closed down and journalists sacked for having the temerity to report on sensitive political and social topics.

Seen in this context, the compromising actions of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are nothing but a setback in the struggle for free speech in China.

But, as the country continues to open up and its people get to travel abroad freely and become better informed, one hopes that the government's efforts to clamp down on those basic freedoms will be futile.

Emily Lau Wai-hing is a legislative councillor for The Frontier