The Chinese government censored live coverage of this week’s vice presidential debate with a “no signal” message when Vice President Mike Pence was asked about the Trump administration’s hardline stance on China, and only allowed the broadcast to resume when Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) began speaking.
Canada-based Globe and Mail Beijing correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe noticed the censorship in real time, posting photo proof to Twitter.
“China censored Pence’s comments on China. Signal returned when Harris began talking again,” VanderKlippe said.
China censored Pence’s comments on China. Signal returned when Harris began talking again. pic.twitter.com/0VEMAqDA95
— Nathan VanderKlippe (@nvanderklippe) October 8, 2020
“What it looks like when China censors a vice-presidential debate after a question about China is asked – and then lifts the blackout when conversation appears set to move on,” VanderKlippe captioned a video that caught the censorship in real time.
What it looks like when China censors a vice-presidential debate after a question about China is asked – and then lifts the blackout when conversation appears set to move on. pic.twitter.com/JgV5yEq7JU
— Nathan VanderKlippe (@nvanderklippe) October 8, 2020
“Without warning, television screens in China tuned to foreign channels displayed colour bars with the words: NO SIGNAL, PLEASE STAND BY. It’s a standard – if misleading – onscreen message deployed when censors block content they dislike, typically in foreign news reports about China,” VanderKlippe wrote for the Globe and Mail.
The “NO SIGNAL” message remained on screen for roughly three minutes as Pence defended the Trump administration’s promises to “Hold China accountable” and continue to negotiate fair trade deals for the United States in the ongoing economic feud between the two nations.
Only when Pence’s time was up and Harris began criticizing the Trump administration for being too tough on China did the live debate coverage return to normal.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on the social media app TikTok has also become a point of contention between the U.S. and China.
In September, the U.S. banned monetary transactions on TikTok as a “matter of national security”:
According to a press release from Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross, all “transactions relating to mobile applications (apps) WeChat and TikTok” to “safeguard” the United States after the “Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the U.S.”
“Today’s announced prohibitions, when combined, protect users in the U.S. by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality,” Ross adds.
Chinese President Xi Xinping took significantly longer than other world leaders to send President Trump well wishes during the latter’s recovery from a COVID-19 diagnosis over the weekend.
