On Monday, when the island’s officials declared they were looking into TikTok for running “illegal operations,” the Chinese owner of the social media app denied establishing a subsidiary firm there.
Taiwan’s top China policy-making body, the MAC (Mainland Affairs Council), had reported that the cabinet had demanded a multi-agency inquiry during a meeting on security risks highlighted by TikTok earlier this month. The matter was also sent to prosecutors for inquiry when it was claimed that a local business had operated in Taiwan on behalf of ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, MAC said without going into further detail.
Taiwanese law prohibits Chinese internet and social media companies from conducting business there. On Monday, ByteDance denied its presence in Taiwan.
A spokeswoman informed AFP that allegations stating ByteDance has established a subsidiary in Taiwan are untrue. There are no legal entities affiliated with the corporation in Taiwan.
Although it is available in Taiwan, TikTok needs to be better accepted by the people there.
According to a story published on Monday in the Taiwanese tabloid Liberty Times, the subsidiary under investigation was a business founded in 2018 that changed its name to ByteDance Taiwan Ltd Co in November.
Taiwan has long warned that it is the target of extensive Chinese espionage and disinformation activities. In the past few years, it has increased its inspection of Chinese companies and put investment restrictions on a number of crucial industries, including the cutting-edge semiconductor sector on the island.
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TikTok was deemed a security risk by MAC. Taiwan is supposedly a democratic, self-governing country, and China’s repressive Communist Party has sworn to annex it one day.
The ties between Beijing and Taipei are at an all-time low. Tsai Ing-wen sees Taiwan as an independent country, not a part of “one China”. Therefore, Beijing has upped its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on the island since she took office as president in 2016.
Taipei has also charged Beijing with escalating “grey zone” threats, including cyberattacks and cognitive warfare alongside warplane breaches into its air defence zone. TikTok denies posing a security threat or any allegiance to the Chinese government. However, due to its Chinese ownership, the corporation has come under increased pressure and scrutiny in Western countries, particularly in the United States.
