The inauguration of the Shanghai branch of the Beijing-based Microsoft Advanced Technology Center (ATC) coincided with a court spar between Dr. Kai-fu Lee, founder and first leader of ATC, and his former employer, Microsoft.

Kai-fu Lee left Microsoft as its vice corporate president for Google in July. Microsoft sued him for violating the non-compete agreement between them the same day.

In his testimony at the court Kai-fu Lee claimed that he left Microsoft because of its mistakes and failure to act in good faith in China.

Microsoft showed an e-mail from Lee who told Google CEO and two founders in this mail on May 7 that he, as Microsoft's executive vice president, was working on something very closely related with Google's business. He asked them to consider what he could do for them. Microsoft also presented some video tapes in which Microsoft Steve Ballmer called Lee as "Godfather" of their China operation and Bill Gates called Lee one of the two most important masterminds behind Microsoft's China strategy.

Google, on the other hand, was trying to prove that Kai-fu Lee left Microsoft because he was disappointed by Microsoft's lack of action and commitment in China.

On the hearing Lee also said in his testimony that the Microsoft team in China was conducting immoral business practices. He complained that Bill Gates' denouncing him for lack of progress on China operation had made him feel his efforts before that were waste of time. He said he was not sure about what message Gates was sending by that signal, but he regarded it as either a blind eye toward achievements or an insult. Microsoft, however, declared that Gates had firmly denied that he had made such comments on their operation in China.

Neither Microsoft China nor Google China has been available for response. But at the conference to release its local search service for Chinese users on Sept. 5 Google's manager for Asian-Pacific products James Mi said his company was not convenient to make any comments as the case was still being handled by the court. But Google continues its recruitment in China and its headquarters has no intention of restraining its investment on the Chinese market.

By People's Daily Online