U.S. House Passes Bill to Force ByteDance to Divest TikTok or Face Ban
U.S. House Passes Bill to Force ByteDance to Divest TikTok or Face Ban
On March 13th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill titled “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries by Controlling Application Risks Act” (H.R.7521) in the morning session. The bill demands that ByteDance divests its control over its popular short video app TikTok, with the alternative being a potential ban of the app in the United States. The bill must now be passed by the U.S. Senate before it can be presented to President Joe Biden for his approval.
US media outlet CNN described the bill as the “most aggressive legislation” targeting TikTok to come out of a congressional committee since company CEO Shou Zi Chew testified to lawmakers last year that the app poses no threat to Americans in a grueling hearing.Chinese observers said the passing of the TikTok bill demonstrated a persistent campaign by some US politicians to hunt down the social media platform, which has enjoyed worldwide success, and is set to dent stabilizing ties between the two countries. Cooperation is the only sensible way forward in the field of science and technology, they noted.
Resolving border issue ‘in common interest’ of China and India: Chinese FM
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday that it is in the common interest of China and India to resolve the border issue as soon as possible, responding to a question related to claims by Indian officials that stationing of so many troops on the border is not in the common interest of both sides.
Wang said during the regular press conference that it is hoped that the two sides will find a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible, in accordance with the consensus of the leaders of the two countries and the spirit of the relevant agreements.
According to a report from The Indian Express, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at a Monday event in New Delhi that he thinks it’s in common interest that Line of Actual Control should not play host to that many forces, it’s also in common interest that China and India should observe agreements that they have, and it’s not just in common interest, he believes it is also in China’s interest as well.
Local authority in Sanhe apologizes for obstructing journalists covering explosion that resulted in 7 deaths
The local authority in Sanhe city, where a deadly explosion occurred on Wednesday resulting in seven deaths and 27 injuries, apologized early Thursday for “forcibly dissuading” reporters from China Central Television and other media outlets from covering the incident. This has sparked wide discussion on protecting journalists’ rights and duties when covering sudden incidents of public concern, especially in cases of disasters.
The explosion took place in a building in the town of Yanjiao, located to the east of Beijing, on Wednesday morning. The incident was reportedly caused by a suspected gas leak at a local business shop.
As of now, all the injured have been sent to hospitals for treatment, and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation.
Some videos circulating online on Wednesday showed a reporter from CCTV who was conducting a live broadcast at the core site of the explosion being approached by two men in black. They blocked the camera and interrupted the reporter’s live broadcast interview.