World Biz
A US TikTok ban may not be a huge loss for China
The company and its foreign investors will lose out, but Beijing has plenty of options — legal and illegal — to access the personal information of American citizens.
The demise of TikTok in the US is now more likely than ever after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would force ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell up or face a ban. While this development has caused frenzied speculation about the future of the popular app, freedom of speech, and potential buyers, China’s reaction has been uncharacteristically restrained.
Other than accusing the US of “bullying,” Beijing has not threatened retaliation or escalated its anti-American propaganda. It is likely that China is holding back its vitriol because the legislation could die in the Senate, where passage remains uncertain.
However, an even more plausible explanation is that China may not lose that much even if Congress does pass a bill banning TikTok. Beijing could even gain from the divisive battle waged in American courts over issues of freedom of speech that are sure to unfold if President Joe Biden signs such a law, particularly just months out from an election.
Once it goes into effect, TikTok’s days are numbered because ByteDance will not get approval from the Chinese government to sell its core technology — the powerful algorithm that influences user engagement. Potential American buyers expecting that President Xi Jinping will allow a homegrown tech crown jewel to be sold under Washington’s pressure simply have no idea about the political logic of the calculations of Chinese leaders.
Even though ByteDance owns TikTok on paper, in reality, the potential losses from blocking it will be borne by foreign and private Chinese investors. American venture capital firms, along with foreign tech investors, own 60% of the company, while its Chinese founders and employees control the rest. Along with these investors, the obvious losers would be ByteDance’s employees, not to speak of the 170 million Americans who use the app.
By contrast, it is hard to gauge how much damage a ban can inflict on Beijing directly, even though that appears to be the main motivation behind Congressional sponsors of the legislation.
Besides avoiding any potential financial losses from outlawing TikTok, China will not be deprived of a tool to gather data on American citizens, because it can acquire this legally by purchasing from third parties. Alternatively, it can also obtain such data illegally through hacking, as in the case of the theft of personal information of more than 20 million Americans seeking federal employment.
Denying China’s use of TikTok as an instrument of global propaganda may not yield much, either. Fears that Beijing could turn to the app to manipulate public opinion in the West and even interfere in elections are legitimate. But Beijing’s record in using overseas propaganda to burnish its image seems unimpressive, judging by its consistently poor favorability ratings in nearly all Western and many developing countries.
In addition, Russia’s success in using American-owned platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) to conduct malign influence operations indicates that there are plenty of options accessible to China.
If a TikTok ban can hurt China modestly, its potential damage to America’s image as a bastion of freedom of speech and judicial independence could be substantial, while also boosting China’s propaganda that the US is just another hypocritical superpower bully.
In all likelihood, Beijing will not bless a ByteDance sale of TikTok, thus forcing the company to sue the US government to save its American business.
TikTok’s strongest defence will be the rights to free speech of American users. Although it remains uncertain whether courts in the US will strike down the proposed ban if it becomes law, previous rulings by federal judges against attempts to outlaw the app in the US and in Montana indicate that TikTok has a fighting chance.
A victory in American courts will make its critics lose face and delight China, although nobody should expect Beijing to say anything positive about US rule of law.
China conceivably could gain even if TikTok fails to persuade the courts that the ban is unconstitutional. Beijing could use this case as the latest evidence of the politicisation of the US judiciary.
As the contest between the US and China is about both hard (military and economic) and soft (ideological) power, the eventual outcome of this fight will undoubtedly influence how the rest of the world views America’s handling of this thorny issue. At stake is not the fate of an app, but the reputation of the US as a country with due process under rule of law.
For now, Beijing apparently believes that advocates for a ban have set themselves a trap more than pull off an anti-China masterstroke. Cynical as they are, Chinese leaders might not be wrong about the fallout of the end of TikTok in the US.
US President Joe Biden has expressed his nation’s full backing for Bangladesh and the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. This marks the first time in Bangladesh’s history that a US president has met with the country’s head of government at a UNGA session, as confirmed by a statement from the Chief Adviser’s Office.
In this unprecedented encounter, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus briefed President Biden on the significant sacrifices made by students who fought against the previous government, leading to the opportunity to rebuild the country. Prof Yunus underscored the importance of succeeding in this national rebuilding effort, calling for US cooperation in the process.
President Biden praised the students’ dedication, stating that their sacrifice calls for further commitment from all, including the US. During the meeting, Prof Yunus presented Biden with a copy of The Art of Triumph, a book featuring wall paintings by students and young revolutionaries.
Prof Yunus, on his first visit to the US as head of Bangladesh’s government, is attending the 79th UNGA, which runs from September 19 to 30. The theme of this year’s debate is “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for present and future generations.”
Rare Diplomatic Meeting Signals Strengthened US-Bangladesh Ties
Speaking on the significance of the meeting, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam highlighted the rarity of such an engagement, noting that the US and Bangladesh already enjoy strong relations. “This meeting elevates our relationship to a new level,” Alam stated, as reported by local media.
Observers suggest that the bilateral meeting, which is uncommon for US presidents during the UNGA, signals Washington’s intention to support Bangladesh through its transitional period. Dhaka is hopeful that the encounter will lead to a new strategic partnership that enhances cooperation on multiple fronts.
Yunus Receives Warm Reception from Global Leaders
Earlier in the day, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus was welcomed by several world leaders at a reception hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Held at the North Delegate Lounge in the UN headquarters, the event served to greet the leaders participating in the 79th session of the UNGA.
During the reception, Yunus exchanged greetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Mauritian President Prithvirajsingh Roopun, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, among others.
Yunus Meets Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau
On the sidelines of the UNGA, Chief Adviser Yunus also met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two leaders discussed ways to enhance Bangladesh-Canada relations, focusing on fostering freedom, institution-building, and youth development in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Trudeau commended Prof Yunus for taking on the leadership role and reiterated Canada’s willingness to support Bangladesh in strengthening its institutions. Prof Yunus, in turn, praised Canada for its enduring friendship and requested increased visa allocations for Bangladeshi students.
The chief adviser also gifted Trudeau The Art of Triumph, further highlighting the contributions of young revolutionaries. In addition to Trudeau, Yunus is scheduled to meet with the managing director of the IMF, the Italian prime minister, and will speak at the Clinton Global Initiative and Friends of Bangladesh events.
Environmental and rights groups urged the European Union Tuesday to label Malaysia’s Sarawak region “high risk” under controversial new anti-deforestation rules to be implemented from the end of December.
The EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR) is due to come into force at the end of the year, although Germany and Brazil have recently joined a string of countries urging that implementation be delayed.
Environmentalists and rights groups have, however, called on the EU to move forward with the regulation.
It will bar imports of a vast range of goods — from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber — if they are produced on land that was deforested after December 2020.
It also requires exporters to assess the risk of rights violations associated with production of the commodity.
In a joint statement, a group of Malaysian and international organisations said Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo should be considered “high risk” under the new rules.
Such a designation would mean closer scrutiny of timber and palm oil imported from the region — an unwelcome prospect for Malaysia, which is already pushing back against EUDR.
The NGOs argue Sarawak’s government plans to convert hundreds of thousands of hectares of natural forest to timber plantations, and is granting companies operating leases in areas that have not been surveyed for protection purposes.
Earlier this year RimbaWatch, one of the signatory groups, warned that around 15 percent of Malaysia’s natural forest is at risk because of concessions granted to companies.
Tuesday’s statement also alleges routine violations of Indigenous land rights, including limits on the amount of land that can be legally recognised, and the unilateral revocation of existing land titles.
“Logging companies are still bulldozing Indigenous peoples’ forests in Sarawak without consultation or consent from communities, which should translate into a ‘high risk’ classification,” said Celine Lim, managing director of SAVE Rivers, an Indigenous organisation from Sarawak.
– Vocal opponents –
Sarawak’s forestry department, and Malaysia’s plantation and commodities ministry did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the claims.
Malaysia and Indonesia have been among the most vocal opponents of EUDR, arguing domestic anti-deforestation standards should be sufficient, and warning the rules will disproportionately harm smallholder producers who cannot meet onerous documentation requirements.
Environmental and rights groups have pushed back against these claims, including at talks in Brussels earlier this month between EU, Indonesian and Malaysian officials.
“Calls from EU governments to delay enforcement of the law are a deplorable abdication of leadership in the face of a climate emergency,” said Luciana Tellez Chavez, senior
environment and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, the Election Commission announced Sunday, after voters rejected the old political guard that has been widely accused of pushing the South Asian nation toward economic ruin.
Dissanayake, whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom.
Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed.
The election held Saturday was crucial as the country seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval.
“This achievement is not the result of any single person’s work, but the collective effort of hundreds of thousands of you. Your commitment has brought us this far, and for that, I am deeply grateful. This victory belongs to all of us,” Dissanayake said in a post on X.
The election was a virtual referendum on Wickremesinghe’s leadership of a fragile recovery, including restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt under an International Monetary Fund bailout program after it defaulted in 2022.
Dissanayake, 55, had said he would renegotiate the IMF deal to make austerity measures more bearable. Wickremesinghe had warned that any move to alter the basics of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion that is crucial to maintaining stability.
Neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote. Under the Sri Lankan election system that allows voters to select three candidates in the order of their preference, the top two are retained and the ballots of the eliminated candidates are checked for preferences given to either of the top two vote-getters. The one with the highest number of votes is declared the winner.
It was a strong showing for Dissanayake, who won just over 3% of votes in a previous presidential election in 2019, and suggests voters are fatigued with the old guard.
Dissanayake’s National People’s Power coalition is led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist party that waged two unsuccessful armed insurrections in 1970s and 1980s to capture power through socialist revolution. After its defeat, the JVP entered democratic politics in 1994 and mostly played a key role in the opposition. However, they have supported several presidents and been part of governments briefly.
The NPP grouping also includes academics, civil society movements, artists, lawyers and students.
Dissanayake was first elected to Parliament in 2000 and briefly held the portfolio of agriculture and irrigation minister under then-President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He ran for president for the first time in 2019 and lost to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted in a public protest over the economic crisis two years later.
Political analyst Jehan Perera said Dissanayake represented the spirit of the 2022 uprising during which angry Sri Lankans ousted Rajapaksa and called for a “system change” and “new faces in politics.”
Dissanayake’s immediate challenge would be to steady the economy “in the face of anxieties felt by business and financial groups about his Marxist and revolutionary background,” Perera said.
Wickremesinghe’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry congratulated Dissanayake and said he hopes he will “lead with a commitment to transparency, integrity, and the long-term good of the country.”
The government announced Thursday that it passed the final hurdle in debt restructuring by reaching an agreement in principle with private bond holders. At the time of its default, Sri Lanka’s local and foreign debt totaled $83 billion. The government says it has now restructured more than $17 billion.
Despite a significant improvement in key economic figures, Sri Lankans are struggling with high taxes and living costs.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis resulted largely from excessive borrowing on projects that did not generate revenue. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s insistence on using scarce foreign reserves to prop up the currency, the rupee, contributed to the economy’s free fall.
The economic collapse brought a severe shortage of essentials such as medicine, food, cooking gas and fuel, with people spending days waiting in line to obtain them. It led to rioting in which protesters took over key buildings including the president’s house, his office and the prime minister’s office, forcing Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.
The outgoing President Wickremesinghe was elected by a parliamentary vote in July 2022 to cover the remainder of Rajapaksa’s five-year term.
