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I wish people would take some time to actually learn about China as it exists today and not how the West imagined it in 2003. The discourse here and in other pl
by nxc18 6y ago
I wish people would take some time to actually learn about China as it exists today and not how the West imagined it in 2003. The discourse here and in other places (like Reddit) has been of absolute garbage quality. Even in this thread there have been calls for the US to ignore the rule of law and have kangaroo courts that always side with the government, complete misunderstanding of why India banned TikTok (retaliatory blow in a border dispute), and claims that it is ironic that Facebook/Google is banned in China. That last one represents shockingly poor understanding of recent events. For example, western companies choose not to operate in the Chinese market: https://theintercept.com/collections/google-dragonfly-china/ https://theintercept.com/collections/google-dragonfly-china/
Citizens in a democracy have rights, but they also have a responsibility to try to understand their system of government and the evil forces they contend with.
If the US wants to ban TikTok (maybe it is in fact in our interest to do so, although I personally disagree), there is a due process. Just like Trump has the legal right to end DACA, the courts have upheld that there is a proper way to do that, and it doesn’t involve being capricious: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/829858289/supreme-court-upholds-daca-in-blow-to-trump-administration https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/829858289/supreme-court-uphol...
There is lots of good coverage of China available in the West, and for folks who are interested, here’s a recent article to start with: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwicrOjIwrTrAhX0On0KHcKCB84QFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fbriefing%2F2020%2F08%2F15%2Fxi-jinping-is-trying-to-remake-the-chinese-economy&usg=AOvVaw1bH7Oc_dKecAWrbNI3lqPP https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwic...
- vorpalhex 6y agoAnd this is actually the due process way of banning TikTok and this is within presidential authority - even if you don't like it. If you have an issue with this being the process, it is fully and entirely with congress who deferred this power to the executive. Legal Eagle has a good explainer on this: [video warning] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnjhHPU-uRw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnjhHPU-uRw
- nxc18 6y agoThanks for that video. Still, I don’t know if wild threats out of the blue after a 2 year CFIUS investigation counts as due process. Just because power is delegated to the executive doesn’t mean the executive can wield that power with impunity, see recent Supreme Court decisions. The legal eagle video does raise additional concerns that aren’t being covered here, like first amendment issues. The timing makes it seem like concerns about TikTok are more about anti-Trump content than actual national security concern. The Legal Eagle video is also very clear that the IEEPA explicitly restricts power over telecommunications platforms, which clearly seems to apply to TikTok. (17 minutes in) Watching that video makes me think TikTok has an even stronger case than is being widely reported.
- kovek 6y ago> The timing makes it seem like concerns about TikTok are more about anti-Trump content than actual national security concern. Before talks of a ban there were discussions about the TikTok app possibly uploading users’ random smartphone gallery content (photos, videos).. That’s technically possible. I don’t know how the government would enforce the app not to have this sort of behaviour.
- cmonnow 6y ago> For example, western companies choose not to operate in the Chinese market In other news, blacks choose not to be slaves to white masters.