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Saturday, March 18, 2023

US’ hooligan nature laid bare in forced divesting of TikTok

 

  Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless ... -


There has been an absurd development of the political farce surrounding the crackdown on TikTok, which has recently been playing out in the US and spreading to Canada and some EU countries.

The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok if its Chinese owners don't divest their stakes in the popular video app, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Even though TikTok has tried its best and done almost everything possible within the technical range in response to the so-called national security concerns, it remains helpless in the face of Washington's economic vandalism. The message is clear: if Washington cannot see TikTok ending up in an American hand, it will shut it down. Judging by the various bans and legislation involving TikTok that US politicians have been working on, it is not impossible for the worst to happen.

Yet, the Emperor's New Clothes surrounding national security concerns cannot hide US politicians' selfish and hooligan nature. The US claims that TikTok threatens to undermine US national security, but there is no evidence at all supporting the killing or robbery of such a globally successful app on national security grounds. The fact that Washington can suppress and even rob TikTok without justification and only because it is owned by a Chinese company is the latest manifestation that in order to maintain the US hegemony, Washington can make any rogue behavior that is against the law and business rules. This could serve as a wake-up call to companies around the world about the political risks of doing business in the US. If they are successful enough to pose a real challenge to American business titans, a rogue government in Washington will start finding fault with them.

TikTok has been seeking various technical solutions to soothe the so-called national security concerns. For instance, it has committed to spend $1.5 billion on a plan known as "Project Texas," which would enact a stronger firewall between TikTok and employees of its Beijing parent company. It has also built what it called a Transparency Center in Los Angeles to help legislators and journalists understand how it safeguards data and how its algorithms work.

But what has happened to the company has laid bare that there is no way to play by the rules to address the US politicians' so-called concerns. This is because it is not national security issues, but TikTok's ability to challenge the supremacy of the US internet industry, that is what really upsets Washington.

With more than 1 billion active users, TikTok is the most downloaded Chinese app in the world last year. The US has 113 million active TikTok users aged 18 and above, and a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of American teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that 67 percent say they use the app, which would add up to about 17.4 million teenagers.

By comparison, the development of some American internet giants has been overshadowed. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, marking a second round of mass layoffs following the first one in fall 2022. Since 2020, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken out on several occasions about TikTok's threat to American values and technological dominance.

Of course, the US government's crackdown on Chinese technology companies has not only aimed to rob economic interests off Chinese companies, but also to curb China's high-tech development and to maintain the US technological and financial hegemony.

However, it should be noted that the fact that Washington cannot allow a Chinese company to have the potential to beat American internet giants in market competition doesn't mean China will allow its hegemony to rob Chinese companies of core technology. Behind TikTok's success is the rise of a new algorithmic technology, which is the representative of Chinese high-tech companies gaining an advantage in international markets.

When the former Trump administration tried to push through a forced sale of TikTok in 2020, China's Ministry of Commerce already made adjustment to its catalog of technologies that are subject to export bans or restrictions, which includes certain advanced information process algorithms. It goes without saying China will resist any bully-like robbery of Chinese companies' core technologies. 

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 Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless ... - YouTube
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Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is an example of the US wanting to claim ownership of everything that is advanced and competitive.
YouTube · 环球时报 Global Time
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, March 17, 2023

Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi 'provides hope to heal the world in turbulence' – another gift from China to world

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, attends the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting via video link and delivers a keynote address in Beijing, capital of China, on March 15, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

 Global Civilization Initiative proposed by Xi 'provides hope to heal the world in turbulence'

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative. Experts said following the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, China is trying to share its wisdom and plans to bring new hope for all nations to consider together on how to escape the trap of the "Clash of Civilizations" and find a path that can help the world sail through the current turbulence.

Xi proposed the initiative during his  key note speech on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting via video link and delivered a keynote address.

Under the initiative, Xi called for respect for diversity of civilizations, advocating the common values of humanity, highly valuing the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and jointly advocating robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

"We are ready to work together with the international community to open up a new prospect of enhanced exchanges and understanding among different peoples and better interactions and integration of diversified cultures. Together we can make the garden of world civilizations colorful and vibrant," Xi said.

World needs hope

According to a Xinhua News Agency story on Thursday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also president of the African National Congress, and 11 other leaders of political parties and political organizations also addressed the dialogue on Wednesday.

They spoke highly of Xi's proposals in his keynote speech, and expressed their willingness to work with the CPC to play a leading and driving role in the modernization process.

"We fully agree with the four proposals put forward by Chinese President Xi in the Global Civilization Initiative," Ramaphosa said, noting the initiative is vital to the world today.

The event, with the theme "Path towards Modernization: the Responsibility of Political Parties," brought together more than 500 leaders of political parties and political organizations from more than 150 countries.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the Global Civilization Initiative will help the world get rid of the old mentality for relations between different civilizations, and create a new landscape for the world which allows all countries to deal with each other based on stability, mutual respect and equality.

Experts said a very fundamental reason why the world at present is experiencing great turbulence is that the old international order dominated by the US-led West is making the world fall into the trap of "Clash of Civilizations," with many countries with different civilizations having a hard time to deal with each other peacefully.

Li said that within the US, people from different ethnic groups and with different religious beliefs are having more tensions rather than becoming more united. For the foreign affairs, during the time of the Trump administration, US senior officials openly hyped "Clash of Civilizations" and currently Washington is still having tensions with many countries with different civilizations, and even instigating conflicts between the countries in the same region with similar civilization.

At present, the old system and order dominated by the US-led West is causing huge problems and dangers to the world in the fields like geopolitics, supply and industrial chains, as well as the financial markets.

The Ukraine crisis is still far from easing, and the energy and foods crises are troubling many countries worldwide. At present, the new danger of a potential global financial crisis brought along by the collapse of US-based Silicon Valley Bank and the problem of Credit Suisse in Europe has made the world more unstable.

Liu Dian, an associate research fellow of the China Institute under Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that in recent years, the world has been facing rising challenges and uncertainties.

"It's just about 15 years away from the financial crisis in 2008, the world is once again under the shadow of another crisis caused by the US," Liu noted. "The world is getting increasingly worried about the old system and getting more desperate to ask for new solution."

Contribute with action

From the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative to the latest Global Civilization Initiative, China has presented the world with an ideological system that gets increasingly mature. Adding to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the ideal of the global community of shared future, China is trying to use its own wisdom, experiences and influence based on its own successful development and exploration in the past decades to help the world improve and reform the old problematic international system and order, experts said.

Liu said that the series of initiatives proposed by the top leader of the CPC and China are answering the questions for the world and our time. The combination of these three initiatives shows China's comprehensive thoughts that aim to solve global problems and improve global governance.

China is not just proposing the initiatives, but also making contribution through actions, and gain concrete achievements, analysts said. For instance, the successful mediation that lead to the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the BRI that links countries with different civilizations to jointly realize development.

The vast majority of the international community welcomes and praises the latest reestablishment of Riyadh-Teheran diplomatic ties with China's support and assistance. This shows that the world in turbulence and regions in chaos desperately need new hope and new solution for peace and stability. China is actively utilizing its influence and wisdom to solve global challenges, as a result, more and more countries will be open to and carefully consider and research China's initiatives, Liu said. 

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Global Civilization Initiative – another gift from China to world: Global Times editorial

 

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative when he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on Wednesday. This is the third major global initiative presented by China after the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. It fundamentally answers a series of questions of the times, such as "What kind of modernization do we need?" and "How can we achieve modernization?" The initiative has become another important public good provided to the world.

The background of the Global Civilization Initiative is that in recent years, as geopolitical conflicts have intensified, the "clash of civilizations" and "superiority of civilizations" have returned to public attention under the instigation and hype of some politicians in the US and the West. The hatred and estrangement among different civilizations have seriously hindered international cooperation. At the same time, "black swan" and "grey rhino" incidents are occurring frequently in the international community, and multiple challenges and crises are intertwined and superimposed. Different countries and civilizations urgently need to work together to deal with global challenges that affect the future and destiny of mankind as a whole. The Global Civilization Initiative can be said to have emerged in response to the demand of the times, and has strong practical significance and practical value.

The Global Civilization Initiative puts forward four initiatives - respect for diversity of civilizations, advocating the common values of humanity, highly valuing the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and jointly advocating robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. It covers the basic concepts and principles that different civilizations can tolerate each other and coexist, and has the source of motivation and a practical path for realization. It is a major initiative that is very constructive, operable and sustainable. Since it advocates respect for different civilizations and support for their development rights, it fully meets the strong needs of the international community and has shown strong vitality from the very beginning, arousing enthusiastic responses in the international community.

As abovementioned, after the end of the Cold War, the world entered an era of high globalization, but it has not really experienced peace. The Cold War mentality and practice of demarcating ideological boundaries and engaging in camp confrontation have not disappeared. On the contrary, in recent years it is resurging. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is essentially a remnant of the Cold War detonating a powder keg in the 21st century. In other parts of the world, the practice of distinguishing between friends and foes in the name of "values" and wooing one faction while fighting against another faction casts a huge shadow on world peace and development.

Furthermore, without true equality and inclusion among civilizations, the process of peace and development will always be at risk of being interrupted. There have been too many tragedies in this regard, both historical and current. In this sense, the Global Civilization Initiative is an extension and complement to the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and together they form the key components of a human community with a shared future.

The world does not need hatred, division or conflict, and the people of all countries want to live a good life. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to create two miracles - rapid economic development and long-term social stability. These are by no means "out of luck." Instead, they have their own profound internal logic. The Global Civilization Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative are highly condensed versions of China's past successful experiences, which China is willing to share with the world without reservation to achieve common development through mutual exchange and learning. It can be said that these three initiatives are all high-quality global public goods demonstrating China's sincerity and goodwill.

It should be emphasized that China is not only a "thinker" but also a "doer" in promoting building a human community with a shared future. In the past year or so, the number of countries and international organizations supporting the Global Development Initiative has increased to more than 100; the Group of Friends of the GDI established on the UN platform has expanded to more than 60 members; and platforms such as the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Trust Fund, the Global Development Promotion Center, and the China Global Development Knowledge Network have also been established one after another. Just a few days ago, Saudi Arabia and Iran held a dialogue and reached an agreement in Beijing, which also became a successful practice of the Global Security Initiative. This happened less than a year after the initiative was first proposed.

Thus, there are more reasons to expect that the Global Civilization Initiative, together with the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, will constantly inject stability and bring new hope to this world of turbulence and transformation. At the same time, we also believe that "Chinese modernization, as a new form of human advancement, will draw upon the merits of other civilizations and make the garden of world civilizations more vibrant." 

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Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless ... - YouTube


Alarm over medical misinformation

 

Setting the record straight: Zamora showing one of her TikTok videos on her smartphone during an interview in Manila.— AFP

 Philippine social media users face barrage of bogus medical posts

Vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped “virginity soap” bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers it can be safely used to “tighten” their vaginas.

The video is part of a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms where Filipinos rank among the world’s heaviest users.

Even before Covid-19 confined people to their homes and left them fearful of seeing a doctor, many in the Philippines sought remedies online because they were cheaper and easier to access.

During the pandemic, AFP’s Fact Check team saw an explosion of misinformation about untested cosmetic products and quick-fix treatments for chronic illnesses.

The majority appear as free posts or paid advertisements on Facebook, the most popular social media site among the 76 million Internet users in the Philippines.

They can circulate for weeks or even months without detection as Facebook struggles to keep up with the torrent of misinformation flooding its platform.

Many of the products are promoted in videos that have been doctored to make it look like real medical professionals are endorsing them. 

Others appear in falsified news reports, while some are touted by vloggers such as Demasudlay.

AFP fact checkers have debunked dozens of claims, including a manipulated Philippine news report that appeared to promote a herbal supplement for diabetics as an alternative to insulin.

Demasudlay’s 15-minute video was posted in August 2022 and viewed more than 10,000 times.

She falsely claimed the “Bar Bilat Virginity Soap” had been approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for skin conditions and a way to tighten the vagina.

In fact, the FDA has warned consumers against using the “unauthorised” soap due to possible health risks that range from skin irritation to organ failure.

A few months later, Demasudlay admitted in another video that the soap had left her “itchy to the point of bleeding” – but she kept promoting it.

Philippine doctors worried about the explosion of medical misinformation during the pandemic began posting videos providing free information about common health conditions.

But the move backfired as promoters of spurious treatments used clips from those videos and inserted them into their own posts for credibility.

Geraldine Zamora, a rheumatologist in the capital Manila, was among those targeted.

In 2020, she began recording videos and posting them on TikTok, where she has more than 60,000 followers.

“It was a good thing for us because we were able to extend our medical knowledge to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to consult with doctors,” Zamora said.

But then the footage was used to promote an unregistered brand of supplement for arthritis, which the FDA had warned consumers about.

The manipulated posts were viewed tens of thousands of times before being taken down by Facebook.

Zamora said that some of her patients considered purchasing the product in the belief she was endorsing it.

The World Health Organisation said “inappropriate promotion and advertisements” for unregistered medical products had long been a global problem and the pandemic may have made it worse.

The consequences of using unapproved treatments can be dire.

Vicente Ocampo, president of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology, said patients as young as 12 had become blind after using eye drops bought online instead of consulting a doctor.

“It saddens us that people will readily believe advertisements that claim to heal all eye problems as speedily as possible and pay exorbitant prices for these eye drops,” Ocampo said. — AFP 

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