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Chinese Yuan Fluctuates as US Election Votes Get Counted

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Investigative Journalist Reveals How Big Tech Shapes Political Views

Big tech companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter can arbitrarily censor internet content viewed or posted by users to influence their political views. After the 2016 election, tech giants enhanced their systems and algorithms to more effectively control and block internet content that does not conform to their mostly left-leaning views. Concerns are being raised about Silicon Valley’s influence on democratic politics including elections, Allum Bokhari an investigative journalist said in an interview on The Epoch Times’ “American Thought Leaders.” Since “There’s no regulator stopping them using that power, and it is going to have a big impact on what Americans are allowed to see, what Americans are allowed to read about,” which may amount to interfering with “this crucial election,” Bokhari said. It has become especially evident after…

Chinese Yuan Fluctuates as US Election Votes Get Counted

The value of the Chinese yuan fluctuated dramatically on Nov. 4 as votes were being counted for the U.S. presidential election.

Around 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Nov. 3, as votes for U.S. President Donald Trump led in the state of Florida, the yuan’s offshore market rate plunged from $0.14975 to $0.14831. The value fell by one percent within minutes.

As ballots were counted and the race was too close to call in key background states, the yuan’s offshore rate increased during early morning EST of Nov. 4 and reached $0.15027 at its peak after 6 a.m. That figure was 1.3 percent higher than nine hours prior and close to this year’s high. The rate then stabilized throughout the rest of the day.

Professor of business at the University of South Carolina Aiken Frank Tian Xie analyzed that as Chinese regime favors a Biden win, and yuan investors likely thought the currency would be valuable if Biden wins.

“When they [yuan currency investors] saw the poll numbers with Trump in the lead, the RMB [renminbi, China’s official name for its currency] in the offshore market tanked, and RMB inside of China dropped a little bit as well,” Xie wrote in an email.

Nick Reece, senior analyst and portfolio manager at Merk Investments, also commented that the U.S. election impacted the Chinese yuan’s exchange rate.

“Chinese yuan sold off, essentially on the risk of a Trump re-election,” Reece told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. “It was expected that Biden would win and win by a pretty big margin. And then as the votes started getting counted, it became clear that it was going to be a very close race, and so I think that the CNY [Chinese yuan] sold off.”

The Chinese yuan once reached $0.13930—its lowest point in the past ten years—on Sept. 4, 2019, amid tensions in the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. officials have accused the Chinese regime of manipulating the CNY’s exchange rate.

Washington and Beijing authorities signed the “phase one” trade deal on Jan. 15 this year, with the yuan increasing steadily for weeks. Then the CCP virus pandemic erupted, bringing economic instability.

On May 18, the yuan dropped to $0.13962—its lowest in the past 12 months. It has since gone up as the global economy recovers from the pandemic’s impact.

A cheaper yuan is better for exports of Chinese products, and though imports coming into China would be more expensive. A cheaper currency also reflects a weakening economy and thus, makes a country less attractive to foreign investment.

Focus News: Chinese Yuan Fluctuates as US Election Votes Get Counted

Twitter, Facebook Limit Spread of Trump Election Post

Technology giants Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday took action on a post from President Donald Trump, the latest move against the Republican. “We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!” Trump wrote in the post. According to projected results, Trump was trailing challenger Joe Biden by a small margin, with battleground states like Wisconsin and Michigan still tallying votes. Twitter hid the missive from users, forcing them to click through on a warning that stated, “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.” Users were encouraged to refer to Twitter’s policy on civic integrity. “The…