American Social Media Silence Chinese Dissident

Twitter has joined Facebook and YouTube in restricting social media accounts of popular dissident Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, in the face of intense Chinese pressure.

Guo, a New York-based billionaire and critic of corruption among senior Chinese leaders, said several Twitter accounts he used to reach more than 700,000 followers had been suspended.

A Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment citing a policy of not commenting on individual accounts.

Earlier, YouTube restricted Guo's live streaming from his widely-watched channel used to post hour-long videos revealing tantalizing details of high-level corruption among Chinese leaders.

Guo spent 28 years as an entrepreneur in China and amassed a fortune from real estate and other ventures. At one time a member of China's economic elite who knew senior political and military leaders, he has begun exposing corruption he witnessed during those years.

For the Trump administration, Guo has become the center of a political tug of war between the U.S. and Chinese governments with Beijing pressuring the Trump administration to turn him over.

Rich Higgins, a former Pentagon irregular warfare specialist who recently left the White House National Security Council staff, said the Guo case reveals that social media companies are caving to Chinese pressure.

More here