Image from Chinadaily.com.cn

With the February 1st government-imposed deadline for online mapping licensing come and gone, Google is still awaiting word from The State Bureau of Mapping and Surveying on whether it will be allowed to offer “any new online mapping services,” according to an article in The China Daily.

The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping is examining a license application it received last year from the Chinese division of Google, the bureau said in an e-mailed statement to China Daily on Wednesday. However, it didn’t elaborate what “new” online mapping services refers to in its statement. It’s not known when a result for the company’s application will be announced, although other major online mapping services providers have been granted licenses. By Jan 31, the bureau had granted licenses to 279 online providers, it said.

Danwei has linked to a salary list posted by recruitment firm J.M. Gemini that details compensation levels for different positions in China’s top-tier cities, including Beijing. According to the list Junior Secretaries typically earn RMB 2,500-3,500 a month while ad agency CEOs earn RMB 70,000-100,000 a month.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Facebook‘s massive IPO this week, Bloomberg (via Sinocism) ruminates over whether the world’s largest social network should “friend or poke China“:

… Many investors will demand the opposite approach. Facebook needs to monetize its site, attract advertisers and maintain its share price. China has 513 millionInternet users, and investors will push Facebook to connect with all of them. Resisting China’s call in the face of such pressure will require strong will on Zuckerberg’s part. Yet if Facebook is going to be true to its stated mission and connect the world as seamlessly, comprehensively and transparently as it says, China can wait.