A potential shotgun wedding to Microsoft Corp for TikTok's US operations provoked an outcry yesterday on Chinese social media as well as criticism from a prominent Chinese investor in TikTok owner ByteDance.

The US tech giant formally declared its interest on Sunday, after President Donald Trump, who has cited national security risks posed by the Chinese-owned short video app, reversed course on a planned ban and gave the two firms 45 days to come to a deal...