News Brief: TikTok Hearing, Taiwan's Diplomatic Isolation, Upcoming Tsai Visit
News Brief (28 MAR 2023)
TikTok Hearing
VERMILION: Three things came out of Thursday’s hearing. The first is that many people in the United States are still having a hard time understanding that TikTok’s function as a social media app plays second fiddle to its role as a CCP mass surveillance and data collection platform. The second is that members of Congress need to brush up on their technical knowledge. Some of those questions were painful to hear. The third is that TikTok is on the way out.
TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Zi Chew grilled by US lawmakers - Reuters
Chew, who began his testimony by referring to his Singaporean roots, said: "We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government."
He added: "It is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep (TikTok) free from any manipulation by any government." He said the app strictly screens content that could harm children.
It is not clear how lawmakers will proceed after the hearing or how quickly they might move to pass legislation to strengthen the Biden administration's legal powers to ban TikTok.
Some 20 U.S. senators - 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans - have backed bipartisan legislation giving President Joe Biden's administration a path to ban TikTok, and the app's fate has added a new element to tensions between Washington and Beijing.
TikTok last week said the Biden administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban.
When asked about a potential divestiture, Chew said the issue was "not about the ownership" and argued U.S. concerns could be addressed by moving data to its U.S. storage centers.
China's commerce ministry said forcing TikTok's sale "will seriously damage the confidence of investors from all over the world, including China, to invest in the United States," and that China would oppose any sale.
China denounces US TikTok ban threat as 'xenophobic witch hunt,' firmly opposes possible forced sale - Global Times
VERMILION: The Global Times is a CCP propaganda paper geared towards English speakers. The CCP is portraying the TikTok situation as a racially motivated attack from a dying power. The Chinese government’s response to the hearing is only going to make things worse for Chinese companies operating in the US.
The US' TikTok hearing is politically manipulated to cover its real purpose of robbing the profitable firm from China, which reflects the US' mounting hegemony and bullying against firms with Chinese background, experts said on Friday, noting the US witch-hunting against TikTok portends US' technological innovation is going downhill and the political farce against a tiny app has seriously shattered the US values of fair competition and its credibility.
The US House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Thursday (US time) titled, "TikTok: How Congress can safeguard American data privacy and protect children from online harms."
While US lawmakers acted like they are pursuing a solution on how to ensure data security, the hearing turned out to be a political show that was designed to smear an international firm that has Chinese background and cover up its real purpose of stealing the firm from its Chinese parent, experts said.
Whether it ends up "killing" TikTok or forcibly taking the child out of its parent ByteDance's arms, it is one of the ugliest scenes of the 21st century in high-tech competition, they said. "Your platform should be banned," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said as she started the hearing, claiming that the app has ties with Chinese government.
During the roughly five-hour hearing, CEO Shou Zi Chew's attempts to illustrate TikTok's business operations were frequently interrupted. His requests to elaborate on concerns of members of US Congress were also blocked.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denounced the US' move on Friday, saying the US is adopting the presumption of guilt and engaging in an unreasonable crackdown against TikTok without any proof.
"We noted that some US lawmaker has said that to seek a TikTok ban is a 'xenophobic witch hunt'," she said, urging the US to respect the market economy and fair competition rules, stop the unreasonable crackdown on foreign firms and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for other countries' firms in the US.
Taiwan’s Diplomatic Isolation
VERMILION: Honduras shifting diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the PRC is a nominal loss for Taiwan.
Beijing sets up formal ties with Honduras in yet another diplomatic blow for Taiwan - SCMP
Beijing announced formal ties with Honduras on Sunday – hours after the Central American nation officially cut decades-old relations with Taiwan – notching up yet another diplomatic victory amid rising cross-strait tensions.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Eduardo Enrique Reina signed a joint communique on Sunday to establish formal ties, state media reported.
“As an important nation in Central America, the government of Honduras has chosen to stand with 181 countries in the world, acknowledging and committing to the one-China principle, cutting the so-called ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua cited a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
Taiwan, Honduras end diplomatic ties (update) - Focus Taiwan
Taipei, March 26 (CNA) Taiwan has severed diplomatic ties with Honduras, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Sunday, the ninth diplomatic ally expected to switch allegiance to Beijing during the nearly seven years President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been in power.
The move came shortly after the Central American nation announced earlier that day it had formally cut ties with the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, more than a week after Honduran President Xiomara Castro said her administration was seeking formal relations with Beijing.
A Honduran delegation headed by Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina arrived in Beijing earlier this week, seeking to sign a communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations with his Chinese counterpart.
Taiwan found it "deeply regrettable" that the Honduran government had disregarded the decades-long friendship between Taiwanese and Hondurans, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at a press conference.
"To safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan has decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Honduras with immediate effect," end all bilateral cooperation projects and aid programs, and recall staff of its embassy and technical mission in Honduras, Wu said.
The ministry also condemned Beijing, saying the People's Republic of China (PRC) had forced Taiwan's ally to switch allegiance in an attempt to squeeze Taipei's international space.
"(Taiwan) will not succumb to the pressure and coercion of the Chinese authoritarian government, but will uphold the values of freedom and democracy, actively unite with allies and like-minded countries, work together to maintain regional peace and stability, and strive to achieve Taiwan's due international status," Wu said.
Losing Honduras means Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (ROC), is left with 13 diplomatic allies worldwide.
Taiwan thanks Government of Belize for unanimously adopting a motion to support Taiwan - Breaking Belize News
Thе Таіwаn Еmbаѕѕу іn Веlіzе іѕѕuеd а ѕtаtеmеnt ехрrеѕѕіng grаtіtudе tо thе Gоvеrnmеnt оf Веlіzе fоr unаnіmоuѕlу аdорtіng аn іmроrtаnt mоtіоn tо ѕuрроrt Таіwаn.
Таіwаn’ѕ Рrеѕіdеnt, Тѕаі Іng-Wеn іѕ ѕсhеdulеd tо lеаd а dеlеgаtіоn оn аn оffісіаl vіѕіt tо Веlіzе іn еаrlу Арrіl 2023.
Rесеntlу, Веlіzе іѕѕuеd а ѕtаtеmеnt rеаffіrmіng іtѕ ѕuрроrt fоr Таіwаn аnd Таіwаn’ѕ dеmосrасу, frееdоm аnd ѕеlf-dеtеrmіnаtіоn.
Іn аddіtіоn, Веlіzе соntіnuеѕ tо ѕuрроrt Таіwаn’ѕ раrtісіраtіоn іn іntеrnаtіоnаl оrgаnіzаtіоnѕ.
Тhе Таіwаn Еmbаѕѕу ѕауѕ thаt thе mоtіоn bу thе Nаtіоnаl Аѕѕеmblу оf Веlіzе “dеmоnѕtrаtеѕ thе gеnuіnе frіеndѕhір аnd ѕtrоng раrtnеrѕhір bеtwееn Веlіzе аnd Таіwаn.”
“Wе wаnt tо ѕау “ТНАNК YОU , Веlіzе!”, аnd wіll аlwауѕ сhеrіѕh thе ѕtrоng аnd hеаlthу bоndѕ bеtwееn оur twо реорlеѕ аnd соuntrіеѕ,” thе Еmbаѕѕу аddеd.
Upcoming Tsai Visit
VERMILION: The last time a sitting President of Taiwan gave a speech in the US was in 1996 when President Lee spoke at Cornell. This resulted in the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and the US ended up deploying two aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait to diffuse tension.
Taiwan prepared ‘for all moves’ by China while President Tsai is abroad - The Guardian
Taiwan’s defence ministry has contingency plans for any moves by China during Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the US and Central America, deputy defence minister Po Horng-huei has said ahead of Tsai’s departure next week.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, carried out large-scale, live-fire war games around the island last August after a visit to Taipei by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Tsai is visiting diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize on a trip starting next week, but she will be stopping off in New York and Los Angeles.
While in California she is expected to meet current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the most sensitive leg of the trip, though Taiwan’s presidential office on Tuesday declined to confirm that would take place.
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of a parliament session whether China was likely to stage more drills when Tsai is abroad, Po said the armed forces were prepared.
“When it comes to what the Chinese communists have done in the past, the defence ministry can have a grasp on it, and will consider the worse scenario,” he said.
“During the president’s overseas visit, the defence ministry has contingency plans for all moves” by China, Po added, declining to give details.
The United States has said there is no reason for China to react to Tsai’s trip, saying such transits are routine and have happened many times before.
U.S. Warns China Not to Use Taiwan President’s U.S. Stop to Raise Tensions - WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is urging China not to use a U.S. visit by Taiwan’s president to raise tensions, with a senior official saying the trip is consistent with previous ones that passed without incident.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen plans to stop in New York and Los Angeles in coming weeks on her way to and from formal visits to Guatemala and Belize. These stops, often called transits, are part of the strained diplomatic choreography over Taiwan and are intended to hew to a U.S. commitment to Beijing to maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan, while allowing its leaders to meet with supporters, including members of Congress.
Ms. Tsai is scheduled to land in New York late on the evening of March 29 and depart for Central America the night of March 31, Lin Yu-chan, a spokeswoman for Ms. Tsai, said at a press briefing in Taipei on Tuesday. Coming the other way, the Taiwanese leader plans to touch down in Los Angeles on the night of April 4 before returning to Taiwan two days later.
Taiwan presidents have made these transit visits through successive U.S. presidential administrations, the senior administration official said Monday. Ms. Tsai, since becoming president in 2016, made six such stops through 2019 “without incident and with minimal P.R.C response,” the official said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“We see no reason for Beijing to turn this transit, again which is consistent with long-standing U.S. policy, into anything other than what it is,” the administration official said. “It should not be used as a pretext to step up any aggressive activity around the Taiwan Strait.”
Ancestral trip or political ploy? Ma Ying-jeou to visit mainland China - SCMP
VERMILION: Ma’s actions are making the KMT less appealing in Taiwan. Storm News has Willam Lai (DPP) with 36% of the vote in current polls, up from 32% earlier this month. The KMT is down to <25%.
A planned trip to mainland China by former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou has stirred controversy over whether he could become a political tool for Beijing as it deploys a “united front” tactic against Taipei.
The debate centres on whether Ma’s visit could help improve spiralling cross-strait relations or merely add window dressing to Beijing’s attempt to annex the self-ruled island, according to observers on the island.
Beijing – which regards Taiwan as its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under control – has stepped up efforts to isolate the island internationally.
The visit will come after the Central American nation of Honduras announced it would establish formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
On Wednesday Honduran President Xiomara Castro sent the country’s foreign minister to Beijing to “promote” the establishment of diplomatic ties, signalling the end of 82 years of formal relations with Taiwan.
Under Beijing’s one-China principle, Honduras – one of only 14 countries that recognises Taiwan, must sever its ties with the island to establish official relations with China.
Ma will lead a delegation of about 30 students and several of his former aides to Nanjing on Monday for a 12-day visit that will also include stops in Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Shanghai, according to the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation.
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office welcomed Ma’s visit and offered to help, saying his trip would help “strengthen exchanges of young people and add fresh vitality to the development of cross-strait relations and peace”.