Google: In or Out?

After issuing threats to leave China in January, Google became vulnerable to poaching of its key staff from other IT firms, particularly the foreign ones with large Beijing R&D centers e.g. Microsoft. As the disagreement with the Chinese government drags into its third month, one might think uncertainty would make things look bleak, but according to a report on Netease internally things have returned to normal according to at least one Google employee and Google appears to be recruiting staff although these vacancies appear to have been existing ones prior to the January quarrel. Advertising is also returning to google.cn so the tea leaves seem to be pointing to Google resolving its outstanding issues with the Chinese government. Happy Lantern Festival， 元宵节快乐！