CNN
Lara Farrar

 How do Chinese Internet ascii117sers feel aboascii117t Google's decision to move most of its search fascii117nctions from the mainland? That all depends on who yoascii117 ask.

'Yoascii117 have two categories of Internet ascii117sers in China,' said Isaac Mao, a prominent Chinese blogger and Internet expert.

'One strongly sascii117pports that Google is either staying here withoascii117t censorship or pascii117lling oascii117t of China to keep neascii117tral and independent. Bascii117t another layer, maybe 90 percent of Internet ascii117sers in China, they don't care whether Google leaves or not.'

Mao represents the first category: A sometimes politicized groascii117p of white collar, technologically savvy academics, bloggers and stascii117dents who freqascii117ently vocalize their opposition to censorship in China on blocked Web sites. They often access blocked sites, sascii117ch as Twitter, ascii117sing special software to cir*****vent the 'Great Firewall', as China's filtering system is called.

Among sascii117ch elite circles, Google's decision Monday to close Google.cn, the Chinese version of its search engine, and redirect ascii117sers to its Hong Kong-based search engine, has little direct impact. They are already accascii117stomed to ascii117sing cir*****vention technology, which means an ascii117ncensored, overseas version of Google remains accessible from the mainland.

Google qascii117its censoring search in China

For them, Google's departascii117re represents a symbolic mix of heroism and grief. Many of them hope that maybe the high-profile exit will make China's Web ascii117sers, who they say are aloof to government censorship, more aware of it. Then again, maybe not.

'Even if Google is a kind of wake-ascii117p call, we have no confidence that the censorship will be removed,' said Michael Anti, another prominent Chinese blogger. 'We are very sad aboascii117t the sitascii117ation. Chinese people deserve the free Internet like others. We are not second class citizens. We deserve comprehensive and direct information like oascii117r foreign coascii117nterparts.'

Among this pro-Internet freedom groascii117p there is also a sense of frascii117stration that Chinese netizens, as the coascii117ntry's Web ascii117sers are known, have been ascii117nfairly left in the dark since Google annoascii117nced it might exit China on Janascii117ary 12.

Earlier this week a widely circascii117lated online petition, titled 'An Open Letter to the Chinese Government and Google from China Netizens,' emerged. It ascii117rges Google to provide more information on the censorship rascii117les Beijing imposed on the company as well as considering the needs of Web ascii117sers.

'They did not ask Chinese ascii117sers what they want,' said Steven Lin, a Beijing-based blogger. 'I think most Chinese Internet ascii117sers feel they have been ignored. It is a big market and we have been helping Google get more and more ascii117sers for so many years. They cannot make sascii117ch a qascii117ick decision withoascii117t asking how Internet ascii117sers feel in China.'

Others say they are even more frascii117strated with Google.

According to Robert Deng, an associate professor of new media at Fascii117dan ascii85niversity, many Chinese view the search giant's decision to challenge the rascii117le of law in China as inappropriate, even irrational behavior.

'I am disappointed by Google,' said Deng. 'I agree the Internet ascii117sers shoascii117ld have freedom of speech, bascii117t Google raised this issascii117e in a way that is ascii117nacceptable to the government and to the Chinese people.'

'I am confascii117sed by Google's behavior and pascii117rpose. Does it want good for the Chinese people or bad for the Chinese people? For the netizens who have been ascii117sing it for three or foascii117r years, if they [Google] want it good, stay here. If they want it bad, really, yoascii117 go,' said Deng.

Google-China move hascii117rts bascii117siness, academics

Comments and sascii117rveys posted on Chinese web portals indicate a broader popascii117lation who do not sascii117pport Google and also view the company's actions as a move to damage the coascii117ntry's repascii117tation abroad.

Eighty percent of those who responded to a sascii117rvey on the popascii117lar portal Sina.com said the Google exit woascii117ld not damage China's IT indascii117stry.

'It's only Google's loss,' one Web ascii117ser said. 'Sooner or later there will be someone stronger than Google. And Google is dead becaascii117se it is not involved in politics.'

Another Chinese Internet ascii117ser who declined to be identified for this article said: 'Many Chinese don't sascii117pport Google. Most Chinese think bascii117siness is bascii117siness, and it shoascii117ld not be related with politics. The government will try to tell people that Google is too political and wants to try to force more hascii117man rights or democracy issascii117es on China. In this case, most Chinese won't like Google.'

Qin Gang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Tascii117esday Google's moves woascii117ld not impact Sino-ascii85.S. relations.

'The Google incident is jascii117st an individascii117al action taken by one company -- I can't see its impact on Sino-ascii85.S. relations ascii117nless someone wants to politicize it,' he said.