Twitter Bits: Huawei Memes, TV Troubles, and a Trade War Theme Song

The Trade War is no laughing matter. People on both sides of the Pacific – from farmers to Game of Thrones fans – are feeling the effects of the most recent round of tariffs.

Last week, Beijing announced its plans to raise duties on 60 billion USD worth of American goods beginning June 1, retaliating against Washington for slapping tariffs on 200 billion USD worth of Chinese products. President Trump then raised the stakes, threatening to hit another 300 billion USD worth of Chinese imports with 25% tariffs – this time affecting many consumer items like shoes and accessories.

The latest casualty in the chaos: Huawei. Blacklisted by the Trump administration, the Chinese telecom giant could be losing access to Google’s Android operating system and apps. Losing access to the Google Play store, Gmail, YouTube, and other services could spell trouble for Huawei’s overseas consumers — a critical problem for Huawei, considering nearly half of their smartphone sales in 2018 shipped to markets outside of China.

However, amid genuine concerns about access to popular services and security risks, Twitter users are finding ways to look at the situation with some humor:

*Huawei gets banned*

Huawei: pic.twitter.com/7Lnp6GTmY9

— きっど ⎊ (@kidxblunt) May 20, 2019

Huawei P30? vs iPhone X
You can not embarrass America like that and get away with it ?? #Huawei #Apple #google #samsung #trump #gmail #iphoneX #HuaweiP30Pro #HuaweiForever pic.twitter.com/LOVIfDMcnw

— Henzo (@FelizMcChanj) May 20, 2019

Elon Musk buys and deletes Huawei pic.twitter.com/Y3P3XFvuuJ

— Memes (@MemesCentraI) May 21, 2019

Tech isn’t the only one on the chopping block. Besides Tencent delaying the GoT finale – which disgruntled fans might say is actually a blessing – many are speculating that the release of a Chinese drama, Over the Sea I Come to You 带着爸爸去留学, has also been pulled due to escalating trade tension.

U.S.-#China trade war turns to TV. No Game of Thrones Finale. (HBO blames trade dispute). A Chinese show called “Over the Sea I Come To You” shot in Los Angeles yanked. CCTV airs another anti-American film showing China defeating the U.S. in the Korean War. pic.twitter.com/suObatF7qH

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) May 21, 2019

The show, which was supposed to air May 19, follows a group of Chinese students and their parents as they go to the states to pursue education. Instead, anti-US propaganda films from the ’60s are suddenly airing on TV.

Meanwhile, US media propaganda also abounds. Right-wing political pundit Emerald Robinson took to Twitter, trying to frame the departure of two pandas from the San Diego Zoo as a lackluster counterpunch from China. In reality, the San Diego Zoo had already confirmed that the pandas’ return was scheduled long ago, and was not prompted by any sudden request from the Chinese government.

Google just cut ties with Huawei. Trump is moving to ban Huawei in the West. What can China do about it? It's demanding its panda bears back from the San Diego zoo. Does that sound like a scary trade war to you?

— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) May 20, 2019

And while you catch yourself up on the propaganda, memes, and newest additions to the tariff list (warning: it’s long), might we recommend tuning in to this anti-American bop:

A retired Chinese official has written an anti-US trade war song, set to the tune of a propaganda song from the 1960s pic.twitter.com/kR87veMMCE

— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) May 21, 2019

Cover: WeChat