TikTok

A woman poses in front of signage before the TikTok Southeast Asia Impact Forum 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 15 June 2023. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP)

TikTok’s foray into Southeast Asian e-commerce is no slam dunk

TikTok is set to pour US$12.2 million over the next three years into supporting more than 120,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia, as it pushes into the e-commerce business in the region. However, it will not be smooth sailing as TikTok will need to contend with regional e-commerce titans GoTo, Shopee and Lazada.
Children playground miniatures are seen in front of displayed TikTok logo in this illustration taken 4 April 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

US digital regulation dilemma: How to censor in a free society?

After TikTok’s recent high-profile congressional hearing, the question on everyone’s lips is what happens next — is a total ban likely? But the larger issue, says academic Sarah Kreps, is whether the US risks winning the battle of ideas and ideals but losing the war.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew reacts during a session for him to testify before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, 23 March 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

What Singapore can learn from the Chew Shou Zi phenomenon

Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Chinese Media Group, observes that the spotlight cast on Singaporean TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi at a US Congress hearing recently is a good entry point for us to think about the role that Singapore can play in the new world order, besides the larger topics such as TikTok and China-US relations.
Chew Shou Zi, CEO of TikTok Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on 16 November 2022. (Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg)

TikTok congressional hearing: Not just about China-US tech war

While China-US relations have an impact on the US lawmakers’ scrutiny of TikTok, the intense questioning of the social media platform’s data security issues by the US Congress has sparked major global attention, especially towards the threat to the authority of sovereign states globally.
Cartoon: Heng Kim Song

ThinkCartoon

Heng Kim Song has been the freelance editorial cartoonist

A 3D printed Tik Tok logo is seen in front of a US flag in this illustration taken 6 October 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters)

Will the US ban TikTok completely?

The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has advanced a bill in Congress potentially giving the Biden administration power to ban TikTok in the US. Zaobao’s China Desk weighs up the various opinions discussing the issue.
Sensing that I'm drawn to such content, Douyin’s algorithm recommended more stories of Chinese families that tug at the heartstrings. (Screenshots provided by Jessie Tan)

Singaporean in China: China's poor no longer beg, they livestream

Former journalist Jessie Tan muses over the phenomenon of those in need transitioning from begging on the streets to selling goods on Douyin. While the poor or disabled have been given a more dignified and effective source of income, this is just one aspect of the good that comes with social media and technology.
Staff members walk past a logo of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on 27 May 2022. (AFP)

China tech companies draw up war plans for ASEAN battleground

In the second of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, Zaobao senior correspondent Chew Boon Leong looks at the strategies adopted and challenges faced by China’s tech companies in Southeast Asia.
In this file photo taken on 13 April 2021, a man walks past an Alibaba sign outside the company's office in Beijing, China. (Greg Baker/AFP)

China’s cloud war: Tencent and Alibaba up their game as cloud giants eye world markets [Part 2]

In recent years and since the pandemic led to the surge in livestreaming, e-learning and other online activities, the demand for cloud computing and related services has increased significantly. Chinese companies led by frontrunners Huawei, Tencent and Alibaba are launching into all-out competition in the cloud services sector. While Huawei has been fiercely climbing the ranks with the injection of talent and funding, Alibaba and Tencent are not resting on their laurels either. What could be their winning war chests? And are they ready to take on the world? Caixin journalist Zhang Erchi finds out.