Editor’s note for Friday, September 18, 2020
A note from the editor of today's The China Project Access newsletter.
My thoughts today:
Welcome to the future, dear reader.ย We have arrived at the grim convergence, a time when America is building a Great Firewall in the name of national security. TikTok and WeChat are banned โ or, to be more precise, partially banned โ from Sunday night 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
These bans will do little to protect American national security, but they will be an obstacle to trans-Pacific business and family ties. Of course, China started first: There is no major Western news or social media website that is not blocked in China. But the U.S. bans will give a welcome justification to the Chinese government for its own restrictions on media and foreign technology companies.
The internet is dividing into two worlds, right in front of us. Thatโs the topic of our top story below. Itโs a little longer than usual, but it should answer all your questions about the WeChat ban.
Our word of the dayย is ban/blockย WeChatย (ๅฐ็ฆๅพฎไฟก fฤngjรฌn wฤixรฌn).
