The Clash of China’s Social Media Titans
China’s internet giant Tencent Holdings and rising challenger ByteDance Ltd. are fighting an all-out war with escalating turf battles and legal tussles even as the country’s regulators toughen scrutiny of big tech’s market power. The latest faceoff took place in early February when ByteDance sued Tencent in a Beijing court alleging that Tencent violated antitrust laws by blocking access to content from Douyin on WeChat and its QQ instant messaging app. ByteDance sought a modest 90 million yuan ($14 million) in compensation. Tencent responded by saying ByteDance’s accusation was “malicious framing” and pledged to countersue. Read more Caixin Global
Mainland is Key to Saving Hong Kong’s Film Industry
The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on cinemas, with many being forced to shut down and resulting in a knock-on effect on those who produce movies. Hong Kong mirrors the devastation, with the local cinema chain UA having recently shut its last six houses after 36 years in the city. The company said its operations had faced “devastating pressure”. This underlines a bleak outlook for the local film industry amid forced closures and scaled down movie production. Crucindo Hung Cho-sing, chairman of the Hong Kong Motion Picture Association, said a collapse like that of UA Cinemas was inevitable. And the Chinese market was now the only way out for local filmmakers, especially through co-productions that can be distributed as domestic films in Chinese cities. Read more South China Morning Post
