Google is still awaiting a decision from the Chinese government which will decide the scope of its future operations in China. It has already stopped automatically redirecting Chinese online users to its Hong Kong site in an attempt to renew its license for Google.cn.
David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer said the Chinese government told Google the re-routing was “unacceptable” and it would not renew its Internet Content Provider (ICP) license if it continued.
At least five workers have died and another 10 were injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in northern China. According to reports, the factory was illegally manufacturing fireworks ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
The blast happened early on Wednesday in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. It's thought the factory was operating without a license and had been selling illegally manufactured fireworks for the Chinese New Year holiday, which falls this year on February 14th.
State media says police are still looking for the owner of the factory, who fled after the explosion. Reports say there are currently three factories in Hohhot that operate with a license but the others are all illegal.