MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A former senator seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, John Edwards, lent his support yesterday to Google’s decision to do business in China despite the country’s record of human rights violations.

“For companies like Google, I think continuing to do business is the right thing to do now, but I think doing it with your eyes wide open recognizing a lot of the problem that exists there, particularly with a focus on human rights abuses,” Mr. Edwards said during a forum with employees at the Internet firm’s headquarters in Silicon Valley.

Google has faced criticism for running a Chinese-language Web portal that censors search results according to rules imposed by the communist leadership in Beijing. Mr. Edwards seemed unfamiliar with the details of the debate when asked about the issue by a top Google official. Indeed, the candidate said he was not even sure whether Google does business in China.

Meeting with reporters later, Mr. Edwards said he was not suggesting a soft line on China: “I would expect to be engaged with the Chinese in a very tough way to make sure that they are constantly aware of when we see abuses occurring, across the waterfront, you know whether it’s intellectual property rights, whether it’s human rights abuses.”

Mr. Edwards dodged a question from a Google recruiter, Tom Zhang, who asked whether America should defend Taiwan militarily if forces from the mainland invade. “I’m not going to answer your question,” the candidate said bluntly. He said America has “responsibilities and obligations to Taiwan,” but suggested that publicly promising a specific response would be unwise.

Google officials said the firm has invited all of the major presidential candidates to speak at its sprawling campus here. So far, three Democratic hopefuls have appeared — Senator Clinton, Governor Richardson of New Mexico, and Mr. Edwards — as well as one Republican, Senator McCain of Arizona.

During his talk, Mr. Edwards offered strident criticism of Congress for sending President Bush a bill that funds the Iraq war but lacks a timetable for withdrawal. “The Congress has the power to stop this war. It’s just that simple. The question is do they have the backbone to stop it,” the former North Carolina senator said. “I know they’re nervous about the political implications. … My view is it’s life and death.

Mr. Edwards called his vote for the war a “huge mistake” and said the episode had led him to question the value of keeping intelligence analyses secret, especially when it comes to war.

Mr. Edwards’s discussion of his plans to combat global poverty by funding primary education overseas got a warm reception from the Google crowd. Mr. Edwards said he would push the global poverty plan even though he is “sure” the political ramifications are “not good.”