TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before a Senate committee in Washington on Wednesday.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before a Senate committee in Washington on Wednesday.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
On Wednesday, various major technology leaders were summoned to a Congressional hearing on online child safety issues. Lawmakers said companies like Meta, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Snap and Discord are failing to protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation.
When it was Republican Sen. Tom Cotton’s turn to ask questions, he repeatedly asked TikTok CEO Xiang Zhi Chu if he was Chinese and a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Mr Chew was adamant that he was Singaporean, not Chinese.
Senator Tom Cotton: “Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew: “Senator, I’m Singaporean. No.”
Cotton: “Have you ever been affiliated with or involved with the Chinese Communist Party?”
Chew: “No, Senator. Again, I’m Singaporean.” pic.twitter.com/1pZaQ64Wxz
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 31, 2024
The minute-long exchange lasted as Cotton, of Arkansas, made the same claims over and over again.
Mr Chew, clearly frustrated, said he had served in the Singapore Armed Forces for several years, which is compulsory for men over 18, and that he only had a Singapore passport. (Dual citizenship is not allowed in Singapore after the age of 21).
“Unfortunately, Singapore is one of the places in the world where the Chinese Communist Party has the highest penetration and influence,” Cotton said on Fox News. Stories with Martha McCallum Wednesday. “So Mr. Chu has a lot to answer for about what his app is doing in America and why.”
TikTok has come under intense scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans over concerns that its China-based parent company ByteDance is sharing user data with the Chinese government.
This is not the first time Chu has been the subject of questions regarding his career. Last year, Chu faced lawmakers in a high-stakes hearing into TikTok’s safety and security.
He has said in the past that the app is “not subject to any government manipulation.”
dear @senTomCotton:For reference, there are various countries in Asia. Citizens of different countries may look similar to you, but they are actually from different countries.
I would be happy to provide you or your staff with additional basic facts that I learned in elementary school. Please feel free to ask any questions. https://t.co/T2n0QrQwoO
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 1, 2024
Experts worry that hostile rhetoric disguised as geopolitical and national security concerns is creating a new kind of McCarthyism and xenophobia against Asian Americans.
Nearly two years ago, the Justice Department ended a controversial Trump administration-era program called the China Initiative. The program primarily targets academics of Chinese descent and is intended to counter the Chinese government’s theft of U.S. secrets and technology. The program was discontinued following accusations of racial profiling, but recently proposed legislation could revive the effort.
“Obviously we want to make sure that national secrets are protected,” California Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu said in a 2023 interview with NPR. It was about narrowing my focus.” “That’s why I’ve always stressed to my colleagues the distinction between the Chinese and the Communist Party of China, because let me tell you, when it comes to just being Chinese, in the American mind, it’s not just about everyone. Because it will happen.”
Neither Cotton’s office nor TikTok responded to requests for comment.