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'He'll tweet whatever he wants': Trump to ignore China's strict censorship 'He'll tweet whatever he wants': Trump to ignore China's strict censorship
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Trump has thumbed his nose at China’s draconian censorship regime as he touched down in Beijing on the latest leg of his 12-day east Asian tour. Donald Trump has thumbed his nose at China’s draconian censorship regime as he touched down in Beijing on the latest leg of a 12-day east Asian tour undertaken against a backdrop of rumbling tensions on the Korean peninsula.
China was last year labelled the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom and Trump’s favourite means of communication, Twitter, is blocked across the mainland along with other western social media outlets including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. China was last year labelled the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom. Trump’s favourite means of communication, Twitter, is blocked across the mainland along with other western social media outlets including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Asked by reporters onboard Air Force One whether this meant the US president would not tweet to his 42 million followers during his two-night stay in China, a senior White House official was defiant.Asked by reporters onboard Air Force One whether this meant the US president would not tweet to his 42 million followers during his two-night stay in China, a senior White House official was defiant.
“No. The president will tweet whatever he wants. That’s his way of communicating directly with the American people. Why not?” the official was quoted as saying by a pooled report.“No. The president will tweet whatever he wants. That’s his way of communicating directly with the American people. Why not?” the official was quoted as saying by a pooled report.
“I’m sure we’ve got the gear aboard this airplane to make it happen. But it is noteworthy that none of the major western platforms for social media are even allowed to operate in China.”“I’m sure we’ve got the gear aboard this airplane to make it happen. But it is noteworthy that none of the major western platforms for social media are even allowed to operate in China.”
Twitter has been blocked in mainland China since 2009 as part of a sophisticated and wide-ranging Communist party attempt to stifle dissent and hobble foreign internet companies that might compete with Chinese rivals. Despite that protestation, observers say Beijing is determined to offer Trump a welcome fit for an emperor in an attempt to keep the mercurial US commander-in-chief on side.
Since China’s president, Xi Jinping, took power in 2012, a major crackdown on free speech and human rights has seen well-known bloggers and activists jailed. According to Agence France-Presse, Chinese internet users can be sentenced to three years in prison for writing defamatory messages that are reposted 500 times. Trump landed in a cloudy Beijing at 2.49pm local time (1849 GMT) and was whisked westwards towards the 15th-century Forbidden City for a personal tour with his Chinese host, Xi Jinping, who was recently anointed as his country’s most powerful leader since Mao.
Trump landed in a cloudy Beijing at 2.49pm local time (1849 GMT) and was whisked westwards towards the 15th-century Forbidden City. Earlier, before flying into the Chinese capital, Trump had told South Korean lawmakers that the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, would face disaster if he continued to lead his nation down the “dark path” towards nuclear weapons. “Do not underestimate us. Do not try us,” Trump said in a direct warning to Pyongyang.
There the US president was greeted by Xi and China’s first lady, the pop star Peng Liyuan. At Beijing’s Ming dynasty imperial complex, the mood was lighter as Trump was greeted by Xi – whom he hopes to persuade to further increase the pressure on North Korea – and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan.
“Trump made pleasantries with Xi,” as they toured the deserted tourist attraction, according to the pooled report, although his precise words were inaudible. In an apparent attempt to underline Beijing’s desire for congenial US-China relations, Trump was shown around three of the imperial compound’s main areas: the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
In an apparent bid to underline Beijing’s desire for congenial US-China relations, Trump was shown around three of the imperial compound’s main areas: the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
According to China’s official news agency, Xinhua, Trump then sat down for tea with his host in a former antiques store within the Forbidden City called the Hall of Embodied Treasures. Propaganda photographs released by Xinhua showed Trump appearing to listen intently to his Chinese host.According to China’s official news agency, Xinhua, Trump then sat down for tea with his host in a former antiques store within the Forbidden City called the Hall of Embodied Treasures. Propaganda photographs released by Xinhua showed Trump appearing to listen intently to his Chinese host.
“With a tablet computer, Trump showed Xi and Peng video clips of his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, singing in mandarin and reciting ancient Chinese poems,” Xinhua reported. “With a tablet computer, Trump showed Xi and Peng video clips of his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, singing in Mandarin and reciting ancient Chinese poems,” Xinhua reported. “Xi spoke highly of the child’s Chinese skills and said her performance deserves an “A+.”
“Xi spoke highly of the child’s Chinese skills and said her performance deserves an “A+.” During a 25-minute tour of a relics hospital in the same complex, officials brought out a series of valuable artefacts that were being restored. “Unbelievable,” Trump said of one. “That’s fantastic,” he commented of another. Shown a 300-year-old rosewood cabinet that had been used by one of China’s former emperors when he was a child, Trump remarked: “Good job.”
Beijing is extending a welcome fit for an emperor to Trump as it seeks to win over the mercurial US commander-in-chief. As well as visiting the Ming dynasty centre of imperial rule, he will be fêted with a banquet and a series of ceremonies at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. At a nearby signing ceremony Trump’s commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and one of China’s four vice-premiers, Wang Yang, reportedly signed commercial deals worth about $9bn (£6.9bn).
Finally, Trump was escorted to the Hall of Character Cultivation, where a showcase of Chinese opera had been laid on.
Trump’s tour will continue on Thursday when he will be fêted with a banquet and a series of ceremonies at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. He is expected to address the media alongside Xi.
As Trump landed in Beijing, Chinese media reports suggested a section of the Great Wall near the capital was to be closed on Friday, hinting that a visit from Trump or the first lady, Melania, was on the cards.As Trump landed in Beijing, Chinese media reports suggested a section of the Great Wall near the capital was to be closed on Friday, hinting that a visit from Trump or the first lady, Melania, was on the cards.
“Such hospitality is rarely seen in modern China,” the state-run Global Times gushed on Wednesday.“Such hospitality is rarely seen in modern China,” the state-run Global Times gushed on Wednesday.
Experts say that for all the public enthusiasm for what they are calling Trump’s “state visit-plus”, Chinese officials will be nervous that he could derail its carefully laid plans with a rogue tweet sent from behind the country’s Great Firewall.Experts say that for all the public enthusiasm for what they are calling Trump’s “state visit-plus”, Chinese officials will be nervous that he could derail its carefully laid plans with a rogue tweet sent from behind the country’s Great Firewall.
Roderick MacFarquhar, a China expert at Harvard University, said: “What is worst about him, and must be a bit worrying for the Chinese, is that I don’t think Trump himself knows from one day to the next what he is going to say or do.Roderick MacFarquhar, a China expert at Harvard University, said: “What is worst about him, and must be a bit worrying for the Chinese, is that I don’t think Trump himself knows from one day to the next what he is going to say or do.
“His Twitter in the morning is based probably on what he saw on Fox News the night before. His judgments are totally self-interested … He’s a bit like Boris Johnson, only in a much worse place to exercise power.”“His Twitter in the morning is based probably on what he saw on Fox News the night before. His judgments are totally self-interested … He’s a bit like Boris Johnson, only in a much worse place to exercise power.”
Paul Haenle, who advised both George W Bush and Barack Obama on China, said Communist party chiefs appeared in two minds about Trump. “On the one hand they have manipulated him,” Haenle said, pointing to Trump U-turns on pledges to challenge Beijing over the South China Sea, Taiwan and its alleged currency manipulation.
“But they also recognise … that he is impulsive and rash and unpredictable – and I think they worry about that.”
There was a minor hiccup on the eve of Trump’s arrival after reports emerged that three US college basketball players had been arrested in China for allegedly shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton shop in the eastern city of Hangzhou.There was a minor hiccup on the eve of Trump’s arrival after reports emerged that three US college basketball players had been arrested in China for allegedly shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton shop in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
Three hours after landing on Chinese soil, Trump had yet to tweet. His last message was sent shortly before he took off from South Korea. “Looking very much forward to meeting and being with President Xi!” it said. Twitter has been blocked in mainland China since 2009 as part of a sophisticated and wide-ranging Communist party attempt to stifle dissent and hobble foreign internet companies that might compete with Chinese rivals.
Since Xi took power in 2012, a crackdown on free speech and human rights has resulted in well-known bloggers and activists being jailed.
According to Agence France-Presse, Chinese internet users can be sentenced to three years in prison for writing defamatory messages that are reposted 500 times.