Trump to Take Action Against Chinese Software Company Within Days

Pompeo Declares in Fox News Interview
Mentions Sanctions on TikTok, WeChat
Mnuchin Joins TikTok Offensive Too

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] It has been reported that U.S. President Donald Trump's measures against Chinese software companies providing data to the Chinese government are imminent.

On the 2nd (local time), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' and said, "President Trump has spoken enough, and we will fix it," adding, "He will take action in the coming days regarding the broad national security risks posed by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party."

He also said, "These are genuine national security issues and also privacy issues for the American people," and "We are finalizing the solution and expect to see the President's announcement soon."

Regarding Chinese software companies with privacy leak risks, Secretary Pompeo said, "Whether it is TikTok or WeChat, there are countless such companies."

In response, Bloomberg News reported that "U.S. measures are likely to expand beyond TikTok." The Chinese parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, tried to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to Microsoft, but the sale process has faced difficulties due to President Trump's opposition. President Trump has declared a ban on the use of TikTok, a 15-second video sharing app, within the United States.

WeChat, a chat app operated by Tencent, which has emerged as China's largest IT company, is also mentioned as a target of U.S. caution.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also raised concerns about TikTok. In an interview with ABC's 'This Week' on the same day, Mnuchin said that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), under the Treasury Department, which reviews the national security impact of foreign business transactions, is examining TikTok's efforts to sell its U.S. operations. He declared, "We will not leave TikTok as it is now."

Secretary Pompeo did not stop his public offensive over the weekend. On this day, he criticized China's fishing practices. In a statement, he accused China of routinely violating the sovereignty and jurisdiction of coastal countries near the Galapagos Islands, fishing without permission, and engaging in predatory overfishing. This was in support of Ecuador's efforts to prevent Chinese vessels from engaging in illegal fishing. He emphasized standing with countries whose economies and natural resources are threatened.

In a statement released the previous night, Secretary Pompeo criticized the Hong Kong government for postponing the Legislative Council (parliament) elections scheduled for September by one year due to COVID-19, saying, "There is no valid reason for such a long delay," and urged the Hong Kong authorities to reconsider the decision.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.