SINGAPORE (AP) — Singaporeans are accused of ignorant or racist views of their country after a U.S. senator criticized TikTok’s Singaporean CEO over his nationality and suggested he had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. complaining about.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives from other technology companies, including Meta, X and Snap, testified Wednesday before U.S. lawmakers about social media’s online harm to children.
During the hearing, Chu was repeatedly questioned by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, Ark., about his nationality and possible ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok, operated by Chinese company ByteDance, has more than 150 million users in the United States. U.S. lawmakers have significant doubts about whether the Chinese government has access to TikTok’s data and whether the app can be used to expand China’s influence. Chinese companies are required to establish a Communist Party cell.
“You said today, as you often say, that you live in Singapore. What country are you a citizen of?” Cotton asked.
Mr Chew acknowledged that he was Singaporean, but Singaporeans are not allowed to have dual nationality, but Mr Cotton asked Mr Chew whether he was a citizen of another country and whether he was applying for Chinese citizenship. I asked him if he had ever done it. China also does not recognize dual citizenship and rarely accepts applications for citizenship, he said.
When Chu answered “no” to both questions, Cotton asked if he had ever been a member of or had any ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“No senator, again, I’m Singaporean,” Mr Chew replied, clearly confused. The party requires its members to be Chinese citizens.
Cotton’s style of asking questions was described as “McCarthy-esque” by the Washington Post. A clip of the exchange posted on social media platforms has garnered tens of thousands of views.
A reel of the exchange, uploaded to Instagram by Singapore’s leading newspaper The Straits Times, attracted nearly 2,000 comments, most of them criticizing or ridiculing Mr Cotton’s line of questioning.
“Senator, do you know where Singapore is?” one person asked. Another said, “Just because you look Chinese doesn’t mean you’re Chinese.”
Approximately 75% of Singapore’s population of approximately 5.9 million people are of Chinese descent, the result of Chinese immigration to Singapore in the 1800s and early 1900s. Many young Singaporeans today do not perceive China as their cultural homeland.
Wednesday’s hearing was Chu’s second appearance before U.S. lawmakers. He first testified before lawmakers in March 2023. The pursuit lasted six hours, with lawmakers questioning TikTok’s data security and harmful content on the platform.
Jojo Chew, an assistant marketing manager in her 30s, said she was initially happy to see Singaporeans attending parliament.
“At first, I felt proud that the CEO of such a huge company was from Singapore,” she said. “But I quickly realized how ignorant the senator’s questions were.”
Mr Chu said Mr Cotton’s questions were racist and it was “narrow-minded” to think that someone who is Chinese had ties to China.
Another Singaporean, Fian Fazley, said he was “completely confused but amused” by the senator’s questions.
“He’s just ignorant and he’s still justifying[his words]in his latest Instagram post,” Fazley, who works for public transport, said of Cotton.
Cotton posted a video of herself being interviewed on Fox News on Instagram, saying in the caption that Chu had “a lot of explaining to do.”
“Of course, anywhere in the world could be affiliated with or have ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” Cotton said on Fox News, adding that the Biden administration is seeking to identify U.S. officials suspected of collaborating with or collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party. He added that he has filed many lawsuits against citizens.
“Singapore is unfortunately one of the places in the world where the Chinese Communist Party has the highest penetration and influence,” Cotton said.
It is unclear what Mr Cotton’s claims about Singapore are based on.
Chew, 41, is originally from Singapore and lives with his wife Vivian Kao and their three children. Before joining TikTok, Chew worked at Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone company, for five years. He was previously a partner at venture capital firm DST Global, and previously he worked at Goldman Sachs.