Last week I asked if Google’s opposition to the Chinese government might affect its other business interests in China, and elsewhere. It’s already happening.

Michael Wines and Jonathan Ansfield reported in today’s New York Times:

After China Move, Google Faces the Fallout – NYTimes.com

China’s biggest cellular communications company, China Mobile, was expected to cancel a deal that had placed Google’s search engine on its mobile Internet home page, used by millions of people daily. In interviews, business executives close to industry officials said the company was planning to scrap the deal under government pressure…
China’s second-largest mobile company, China Unicom, was said by analysts and others to have delayed or killed the imminent introduction of a cellphone based on Google’s Android platform…

  

A Chinese entrepreneur told the New York Times:

Google’s withdrawal amounted to “an amazing public slap in the face to the Chinese government.”

Google wants to maintain its R&D facilities and its sales team. But is that realistic?

Beijing officials were clearly angered Tuesday by Google’s decision to close its Internet search service in China and redirect users to the Hong Kong site, a move that focused global attention on the government’s censorship policies…

Employees of Google might very well face problems with their careers when seeking jobs at other places. And the Chinese government could scrutinize Google’s business partners, not just on deals in China but outside of China too.

Google was unable to get other Western companies to admit that they were also attacked by Chinese hackers — they might shun Google outside of China too, on concerns about their China interests.

[Editor’s Note: Tom cross-posted this at Silicon Valley Watcher. –mrh]