Daily US Times: The Chinese embassy in the United States has said its Twitter account was hacked after it retweeted a baseless claim by President Donald Trump accusing the Democrats of cheating in the election.
Trump posted late on Wednesday: “If somebody cheated in the election, which the Democrats did, why wouldn’t the election be immediately overturned? How can a country be run like this?”
The post is now carries a Twitter warning that the claim of election fraud is “disputed”. It was retweeted within minutes by the official account of the Chinese embassy in the US, catching the eye of social media users.
The Chinese embassy then tweeted that it had not done any retweeting on December 9th, adding that “The Chinese embassy Twitter account was hacked this afternoon and we condemn such an act.”
China’s government formally congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on winning the election on November 26th. The US-China relationship has deteriorated during Trump’s presidency. While initially praising the leadership of Xi Jinping, President Trump soon pivoted to a tough stance against the Chinese government, and the two nations sparred over trade, human rights, technology and visas for journalists and diplomats.
Donald Trump, who remains president until Biden’s inauguration in January 20th, has continued to issue sanctions and executive orders against China and its officials, and key appointees have continued to air major accusations and criticisms.
Twitter is among numerous other social media platforms banned in China but the Beijing’s diplomatic missions and staff around the world maintain accounts.
You may read: Pfizer’s Covid vaccine faces last hurdle before US decision
