Hey Siri, What is irony: China slams United States for Big Tech censorship

Communist China's state-run Global Times on Tuesday denounced Big Tech's censorship of President Donald Trump as an exercise of "US digital hegemony," demanding tech giants such as Twitter, Google, Apple, and Amazon to recognize the "sovereignty" of other nations in the cyberspace.

The article lambasted establishment forces for uniting to fight their "common enemy" with "unprecedented efforts" by "executing Trump digitally" across social media networks. The rampage ushered apprehension worldwide that could have impact world politics, the piece continued. "Chinese analysts" have reminded the public that "Trumpism won't disappear." Instead, the movement "will keep tearing apart the US."

The editorial offers an example of how Chinese propagandists scrutinize American journalism, commentary, and social media, constantly seeking angles that can be exploited for Beijing's political gain.

Big Tech's crackdown on Trump substantiated into a platform for China's mouthpiece to recycle criticism of American "hegemony" over the Internet. In actuality, China is striking after the US has slammed the country for committing human rights violations and oppressing pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. The Chinese Communist Party's only objective is to silence inconvenient dissidents who threaten the nation's authoritarian rule.

The Global Times portrayed the Capitol Hill riot as retribution for America's support for democracy movements and color revolutions.

School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University professor Shen Yi told the Global Times that the censorship enforced by Democrats and tech tyrants is "a classic tactic for the US to overthrow a government overseas" by "using a conflict as an opportunity to incite the public by selectively spreading or muting specific information online." Moreover, the policing online supposedly intends "to dominate the public opinion and create condition for a Color Revolution or a coup and eliminate a political force with made-up justification," the publication continued.

"The result has proven that the tactic is very effective. Trump and his supporters are doomed," Shen said.

The Global Times went on to cite quotes from distressed Americans—such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Republican Congressman Devin Nunes—about anti-trust ramifications and collusion among digital robber barons to squash upstart competitors like Parler, an alternative free speech platform to Twitter that was wiped out by the Big Tech conglomerate.

Given that China controls every industry, owns the competition, and poses Beijing as the mightiest monopolist, this concern is difficult to accept as sincere plight coming from the state media apparatus.

The Global Times argument against the Silicon Valley overlords quickly mutated into the typical attack on capitalism mixed with gloating about how democracies have struggled to cope with China's coronavirus pandemic.

The reigning forces have unleashed their "ultimate power to almost eliminate Trump's political influence" in the last week of his term, "but they didn't act so united and assertive to intervene in Trump's governance before," the editorial fired back, pointing to "the administration's failed handling and misinformation that cost the lives of more than 370,000 Americans from COVID-19."

Shen added: "[T]o these elites, the Capitol riot seems like much more harmful than the deadly and uncontrolled epidemic situation."

"This has shown that the power center of the US that empowers all establishment force, politicians, media, social media networks and firms is still Wall Street, and there is nothing that can compete the power of capital," the author quoted Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing research fellow Lü Xiang.

The article concluded with a prediction from the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China's associate dean Jin Canrong. "Trump could be abandoned but Trumpism will stay," the academic contended. "The foundation of Trumpism is still there," the source declared, naming "uneven development between financial industry and substantial economy" and "unfair distribution between elites and middle class" that still persist in America.

As long as the problems remain in 2024, "a smarter Trumpist with more sophisticated political skills might return to the game," the piece concluded.