Chinese streaming services Tencent and Baidu blocked in Taiwan

The Taiwanese government has tightened requirements for Chinese organizations by blocking the streaming video services of Tencent Holdings and Baidu. It is reported by Nikkei Asian Review. The Tencent platform and the Baidu iQiyi streaming service are already banned in Taiwan. However, Chinese companies managed to circumvent this blocking by collaborating with local organizations. This loophole will be eliminated on September 3, when the new rules approved by the Taiwan Ministry of Economy come into force. ICBC International analyst Martin Bao noted that this decision will not have much impact on Tencent and Baidu. He explained that Taiwan, with a population of about 23 million people, is a small market for Chinese companies, so the symbolic significance of this decision is more important than its financial consequences. In the summer of 2020, Tencent and other Chinese technology companies faced political pressure in international markets. In particular, the Indian government banned a number of Chinese applications, and US President Donald Trump signed a decree restricting the activities of ByteDance and Tencent in the United States. As previously reported by the news agency, in August, the chief strategy specialist of Tencent, James Mitchell, said that a ban on financial activities in the United States would have a minimal impact on the income of the Chinese company.