Since last week, rumors that Google has made up its mind to quit China ^[1] have been getting stronger and stronger. Now a Chinese newspaper is reporting ^[2] that Google may cease operations in China as early as April 10. Reportedly, Google will announce the departure date on Monday – the day after the Google employees will receive their annual year-end bonus.

The row started when Google publicly announced ^[3] that they had been victim of sophisticated hacking attempts originating from China. In an aggressive move, Google promised to serve uncensored search results in China and even threatened to pull out. The ensuing controversy worsened diplomatic relationship between China and USA and succeeded in bolstering Google’s “Do No Evilimage.

Google may not be the largest search engine in China, but it does command a significant market share. Google has officially declined to comment on the speculations. However, if it indeed decides to quit China completely, there would be widespread ramifications due to the sheer number of various Google products and their respective users.