Rep. Wu calls on Congress, companies to support Google

Under the new policy Chinese users will be sent to a new landing page where they can use Google products other than search, such as music and text translate. The site will have a link to the Hong Kong search engine.

Wu commended Google for finding a way to stay in China — where “if you listen to Chinese users, it’s clear they all want continued access.”

The new strategy marks a continued effort to stand up to censorship, according to Wu.

“Yes this involves an extra click, but freedom is worth an extra click,” he said.

It remains unclear whether the policy shift will be enough to appease the Chinese government when the company’s content license goes up for reconsideration Wednesday, Drummond indicated.

Sharon Hom, a human rights activist who calls for Internet freedom in China, echoed Wu’s calls for Congress and other private companies to stand by Google’s side.

“Google is a technology giant, but putting Google up alone alone against the Chinese government, it’s not really an even match,” she said.