Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of joining one of the world’s most famous broadcasters in the world, Piers Morgan, on his television show Piers Morgan Uncensored.
My first time watching Piers Morgan came in 2011, when he visited Shanghai to film a documentary about China. I was living in Shanghai at the time and felt the 40 minute film did a wonderful job of introducing Shanghai, the most modern and advanced city in China, to the world. It helped prepare Western audiences for the inevitable rise of China in our global economy.
Our topic of discussion was the potential ban of TikTok and if the popular social media app is indeed a trojan horse for the Chinese government to spy and access data of Western citizens. It’s been a trending topic in the United States for almost 2 years, as the popular Chinese app has become one of the world’s most dominant forces in social media.
TikTok has become so successful that Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube have all had to pivot and shift their business models to include short form videos designed to be viewed on the phone (roughly 70% of people who use YouTube for example, watch on their phone).
In my opinion, the fears of TikTok being a national security threat are overblown. TikTok is not a security threat but simply a foreign competitor. TikTok maintains its servers outside of Mainland China and has no obligation to share any data with the Chinese government. But there is something even more important to understand. Until this point, China’s government has NEVER asked TikTok for any data of its users. The fears of TikTok have been grossly exaggerated and until this point in time, there is no evidence of any American or foreign citizen being harmed in any way in a national security measure.
In today’s video, I debate an ultra conservative member of parliament from the UK named Tobias Ellwood. Tobias opens the conversation with the typical Western viewpoint: China is a threat to our Western Rules Based Order! Can we trust the Chinese government with our data?
I counter these claims with facts and logic and present a more balanced approach to the situation. But the most fascinating part of the interview came halfway through when Piers Morgan became interested in how China’s government limits the time youth are allowed to spend on social media. Piers began to think outside the box and even challenged Tobias stating:
“You know there is a different way to look at this. Where you say actually, a bit of totalitarian state control of usage of social media may not necessarily be a bad thing”
Overall this interview went extremely well in my opinion. We brought together people with different viewpoints on a situation and politely discussed these issues in a civil way.
It was my first appearance on mainstream Western television and I’m honored and thankful that Piers would give me the opportunity to present the other side of the story. Watch to the end of the video and see how Piers and Tobias made a classic Western assumption of China, and how I was able to disprove that claim with a bit of nuance and knowledge of how China works.
As always thank you all for your support, and enjoy this week’s video
Cyrus
Thank you for being heard even Here In South Africa. i have been following and doing my reseaech on China and I really love for being China more special Guangdong province, things are happening there my brother honesty. Life is in China no other place to take a walk around. Politics is a problem but i do not see the West winning this time. Propaganda times are outdated my friend. Yes, there are still people who are brainwashed out there.
Cyrus, here are a few questions for you: 1) Why are the FOUR largest social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook) blocked from domestic access in China (without VPN) and what threat do they have to the Chinese? You use these platforms while Chinese citizens are blocked. 2) Why do Chinese government officials and govt supported accounts use these prohibited platforms for propaganda and to openly criticize the USA/West? 3) Would China allow US government officials to have similar access and open messaging on Chinese social media to be used in a similar manner? You see Cyrus, I don't disagree with you on the TikTok ban being an overreach, but I do believe in having fairness in international relations (trade, media, etc) especially between China and the West. The Chinese continue to show they will abuse the West's access to freedom of speech, using it to further their agenda while prohibiting the same to take place in China. When you support China's requirement to link IDs to any social media accounts, you should be reminded that the freedoms you enjoy came from the founders of America using anonymity to disseminate ideology and speech that could have resulted in them losing their lives and heads to the King. Finally, your support of China limiting the time youth can spend online "doing whatever" reflects a serious flaw in your thinking about parenting, responsibility and the role government should play in life. What if they decided to limit the time youth can enjoy other activities that distract from schoolwork? What if they restricted youth golf? I love China and the Chinese people - the changes I have witnessed personally in China over the years are amazing. However, I will not put on rose colored glasses and give a pass to the obvious unfairness that exists in the areas mentioned above - and I continue to hope you will take off these glasses and see and speak in fairness about things as they are.