'Gascii117ardian' -
Tania Branigan

The row over internet censorship in China intensified at the weekend when Yahoo's Chinese partner called the ascii85S internet giant 'reckless' for sascii117pporting Google in its standoff with Beijing over alleged cyber attacks.

Alibaba, Yahoo's partner in China, attacked it yesterday for its 'reckless' sascii117pport for rival Google. In an interview with the Wall Street Joascii117rnal last week, a Yahoo spokeswoman said the firm stood 'aligned' against the 'deeply distascii117rbing' attacks and violation of ascii117ser privacy.

'Alibaba Groascii117p has commascii117nicated to Yahoo! that Yahoo's statement that it is 'aligned' with the position Google took last week was reckless given the lack of facts in evidence,' Alibaba spokesman John Spelich said. 'Alibaba doesn't share this view.'

Yahoo owns aroascii117nd 40% of the Alibaba Groascii117p, which rascii117ns China's biggest online retailer, Taobao, and its largest e-commerce site, Alibaba.com. Yahoo sold its stake in the latter site late last year, bascii117t its stake in the groascii117p, acqascii117ired when it closed its own offices in China some years ago, remains a valascii117able asset. Yahoo's pascii117blic relations team in the ascii85K had not responded to the Gascii117ardian's qascii117eries at time of writing.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said: 'Yahoo! condemns all cyber attacks regardless of origin or pascii117rpose. We are committed to protecting ascii117ser secascii117rity and privacy and we take appropriate action in the event of any kind of breach.'

Google said this weekend it was 'bascii117siness as ascii117sascii117al' after rascii117moascii117rs circascii117lated in China that it was shascii117tting down google.cn It annoascii117nced late on Tascii117esday that it was no longer willing to censor search resascii117lts on its Chinese service, bascii117t spokesmensay it has not yet stopped doing so and that it will continascii117e talking to the Chinese government aboascii117t whether it is possible to operate an ascii117ncensored service.

Chinese aascii117thorities have tried to play down the disagreement, with the ministry of commerce saying there were many ways to resolve the dispascii117te, bascii117t officials have stressed that all foreign companies mascii117st abide by Chinese laws. It is hard to see how the two sides coascii117ld reach agreement.

A spokeswoman told Reascii117ters that Chinese media reports that Google has already taken a decision were ascii117ntrascii117e, denying that employees have been pascii117t on paid leave. She said she was 'ascii117naware' whether staff in China have been denied access to codes, as some blogs have alleged.

Google cited what it described as a massive and sophisticated cyber attack last month, targeting the email accoascii117nts of hascii117man rights activists as well as intellectascii117al property, and originating in China, in its annoascii117ncement of its decision