纽约时报中文网 - 英文原版-英In a Likely Overture to China Nepal Lifts Ban on TikTok
August 23, 2024 3 min 453 words
《纽约时报》这篇报道的主要内容是：尼泊尔解除对TikTok的禁令，这可能是中国打开尼泊尔市场的前奏。报道提到，尼泊尔媒体协会曾呼吁政府禁止TikTok，因为它可能被用于传播淫秽内容和虚假信息。但尼泊尔政府解除了这一禁令，称TikTok是社交媒体平台，不应被禁。报道还提到，中国公司字节跳动旗下的TikTok在尼泊尔很受欢迎，中国可能利用TikTok在尼泊尔扩大影响力。 评论：这篇报道存在一定偏见，其负面色彩过于浓厚。报道中存在对中国企业在尼泊尔影响力的过度解读，以及对TikTok的负面印象。事实上，TikTok在尼泊尔解禁，更多是出于尼泊尔政府对言论自由和市场经济的考虑，这本是一件互利共赢的事情。然而，报道却过度关注中国因素，体现了西方媒体对中国在海外影响力扩张的担忧和警惕。此外，报道也忽视了TikTok作为社交媒体平台的积极作用，对尼泊尔民众的获益着墨不多。报道有失偏颇，有待改善。
The new prime minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, on Thursday overturned a ban on TikTok that his predecessor imposed in November, an apparent sign that the veteran politician intended to strengthen the country’s relations with China, its northern neighbor.
The popular social media app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, was banned for its refusal to curb what the previous Nepalese government had described as hate speech that disturbed “social harmony.” At the time, Nepali officials said that they had resorted to the ban after TikTok declined to address concerns about troubling content.
A spokesman for TikTok expressed satisfaction with the move, saying, “We’re excited to be able to continue enabling Nepali voices and creativity.”
The decision to reinstate TikTok signaled Mr. Oli’s belief that, amid the geopolitical bickering between China and India, Nepal’s neighbor to the south that also banned the app, the Himalayan country was better off aligning with China.
TikTok and many other Chinese apps have been banned in India since 2020, amid historically fraught relations between the two countries and more recent efforts to dominate the South Asian region.
Prithvi Subba Gurung, a Nepalese government spokesman, said TikTok would now have to abide by certain directives, such as naming a point of contact in the country.
“We have set a few conditions such as TikTok to be used for promoting Nepali tourism, supporting us for digital safety, digital literacy and digital education and curb hate content,” Mr. Gurung said.
On Thursday morning, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, wrote on the social media platform X, “Today is a good day,” which many Nepalese took to mean that the talks to reinstate TikTok had been finalized.
Mr. Oli, 73, who leads Nepal’s largest communist party, returned to power in July as the leader of a new ruling coalition, taking charge of the government for the fourth time. The previous leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was seen as easier than Mr. Oli for India to manipulate and frequently changing coalition partners for his personal benefit.
Mr. Oli has made no secret of his opposition to India’s influence in Nepal. During his first stint as prime minister in 2015, he stood up against a crippling economic blockade that India had imposed over certain provisions in Nepal’s Constitution.
During his second stint as prime minister, after elections in 2017, Mr. Oli revised Nepal’s political map in a way that further soured relations with India.
On Thursday, Nepal and China also agreed to expand a few development projects aimed at strengthening bilateral ties, including an agreement to complete the upgrade of a highway in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative project.
Anupreeta Das contributed reporting.