The Tik Tok incident is a demon mirror (observation deck)
For some time, the United States has repeatedly adjusted its acquisition plan for Tik Tok, and the bullying method has also changed repeatedly.
The entire development process of the incident is like a magic mirror. No matter what kind of costumes the US pretends to be, how the words are packaged, its ugly face and sinister intentions are all at a glance, which cannot change the "predatory" nature of this transaction.
This mirror reflects the original image of the pirates of the US government.
In the Tik Tok incident, the decent U.S. government first labelled companies as "endangering national security" without any real evidence, then threatened to intimidate and impose a ban, then introduced capital to profit from it, and even the lion opened its mouth to squeeze benefits. .
In the eyes of the US government, there is no room for any other country's company to have the competitiveness that can challenge its domestic companies.
Once you encounter a company that is "threatening" it, you can start directly. "Snatch it if you can't do it, or destroy it if you can't get it." This has become the usual tactic of the US to "kill" high-tech companies on a global scale.
This kind of piracy has obviously been pushed to a situation that makes the world breathtaking.
This mirror reflects the hypocrisy of American values.
The United States has always been talking about terms such as "commercial freedom," "fair competition," and so on. It often assumes the appearance of standing on the moral commanding heights, condescendingly pointing to other countries' enterprises.
As a Western international relations scholar said, “The United States is a'master of art' who uses a cloak of kindness to cover up their selfish national interests.” In the Tik Tok incident, the United States simply took off this coat of values and showed naked muscles.
Seeing that "people have nothing but others," we must take it for ourselves, and use state power to forcibly interfere. The values it has always advertised have long been thrown out of the sky.
In the past, slogans such as "commercial freedom" were a fig leaf for the United States to cover up its dirty methods.
Today, the United States doesn't even need the last layer of fig leaf, and completely removes the disguise of the number one power.
This mirror reflects the mighty ambition of the United States to overthrow the rules.
The stable development of the world economy requires mature rules, but the US government staged a negative demonstration of "reshaping" rules with power in the Tik Tok incident.
Out of self-interest, the United States often "fits the established order and rules, but uses it or discards it." Other countries can only abide by it and bear the high cost of the United States' arbitrary violation of the rules.
Not only that, there are too many irresponsible embarrassments in the United States in recent years, such as breaking contracts and "withdrawing from the group" and undermining international consensus.
For the United States, which must say that it has established a "rules-based international order," to what extent can it comply with new rules even if it has formulated new rules?
Even if it claims to follow the rules, who will really believe it?
This mirror is also a reminder to countries around the world.
Once the U.S. government succeeds in the Tik Tok incident, it also means that any multinational company that invests in the U.S. may face "unnecessary" accusations from the U.S. government at any time, be plundered in the form of so-called "commercial cooperation" and become U.S. hegemony. New offering.
In addition to "acquiring" companies, the United States may also wantonly trample on rules and backtrack on other issues.
Regarding self-interest as the code of conduct, taking arrogance as a means of participating in competition, and using established rules as a tool to discard at will... Such a US government cannot but arouse the vigilance of all countries in the world.
(The author is Jiang Zhongqi, a commentator for this newspaper)