China appears to have censored the CNN feed of Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate on televisions within China’s borders when Mike Pence began to criticize the Chinese Communist Party for mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and promised consequences.

The CNN feeds in China abruptly cut out and were replaced by a message reading, “no signal – please stand by” as Pence was answering a question on the world’s second largest economy, the Globe and Mail reported.

CNN is not available in most homes in China but is available in some hotels. The “no signal” message is reportedly common when China censors content, often news reports dealing with China.

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The CNN feed in China the moment debate turned to China. pic.twitter.com/GuhqTDaEda

— Nathan VanderKlippe (@nvanderklippe) October 8, 2020

What it looks like when China censors a vice-presidential debate after a question about China is asked – and then lifts the blackout when conversation appears set to move on. pic.twitter.com/JgV5yEq7JU

— Nathan VanderKlippe (@nvanderklippe) October 8, 2020

“China is to blame for the coronavirus. And President Trump is not happy about it,” the vice president said during the blocked segment.

“China and the World Health Organization did not play straight with the American people,” Pence continued, accusing Beijing of refusing to allow U.S. personnel into China to obtain information about the coronavirus until mid-February.

Pence added that China had been “taking advantage of America for decades” before the Trump administration and accused Biden of “cheerleading for China.”

“President Trump has stood up to China. We’re going to continue to stand strong. We want to improve the relationship, but we’re going to level the playing field, and we’re going to hold China accountable for what they did to America with the coronavirus,” Pence said.

The feed was restored nearly three minutes later when Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, began to answer a similar question about China’s relationship with the U.S.

Harris blamed the Trump administration for the loss of life due to the pandemic, and said administration’s trade practices with China have resulted the loss of American jobs. The California senator also claimed that the global standing of the U.S. has suffered, with leaders of other countries now saying they respect Chinese President Xi Jinping more than Trump.

Trump on Wednesday against promised that China would face consequences for allowing the coronavirus to run rampant over its borders.

“China’s going to pay a big price, what they’ve done to the world,” the president said.

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