[DiogenesKynikos]

You complain about "whataboutism," but your comment is just a long list of, "But what about this bad thing China did?"

Yet when other people point out much more horrible things the US has done in the same timeframe (like backing Israel to the hilt as it kills tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and destroys the entire Gaza strip), you respond with, "That's Whataboutism."

[glenstein]

The list of offenses from China are foundational to the case for banning Tiktok. They belong to an argument that bootstraps itself. Those points aren't merely offered in a reactionary manner as a way to attempt to refute or deflect other criticisms.

What makes any specific point into whataboutism is its intended use as a counterpoint in a context where it doesn't change the outcome of the argument its responding to.

[DiogenesKynikos]

What does the South China Sea have to do with TikTok?

The "list of offenses" is just meant to say, "China bad, so TikTok bad."