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. 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.
“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.”
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