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CAPTURED / C-SPAN It got tense when a US Senator questioned TikTok CEP Chew Shou Zi abouthis ties to China. |
The racist ilne of questioning by Congress members warned by Asian Americans was in full display Wednesday when TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi was grilled by Senator Tom Cotton.
During a Senate meeting Jan. 31, Chew, along with other social media heads Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Discord CEO Jason Citron were questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee.Even though the hearing was supposed to be about children’s online safety, when Chew was questioned by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton,the inquiry veered widely off the subject as Cotton grilled the CEO about his ties to China.
Cotton asked Chew, “You…often say you live in Singapore. Of what nation are you a citizen?”
“Singaporean, sir,” answered Chew.
Cotton followed with, “Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship?” To this, Chew said he served his National Service (NS) in Singapore for two and a half years.
Chew reiterated that he does not hold other citizenships. Singapore does not allow dual nationality.
In response to another Cotton inquiry, Chew said his wife and two young children are American citizens. When he was asked if he had applied for American citizenship, he said: “Not yet.”
Cotton asked: “You…often say you live in Singapore. Of what nation are you a citizen?”
“Singaporean, sir,” Chew replied.
Then came a question of whether Chew has ever been a member of the CCP. This time, the TikTok CEO was clearly agitated."Senator," Chew responded forcibly, "I’m Singaporean — no!"
Cotton rephrased his question for further clarification. Chew was asked if he has any links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to which he replied: “Again, I’m Singaporean”.
Cotton then asked: “Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship?” To this, Chew said he served his National Service (NS) in Singapore for two and a half years
To be clear, the Singapore-based TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. The Chinese government does own a portion of that company.“TikTok is not available in mainland China,” Chew said in response to Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
BACKLASH
“This line of questioning from Senator Tom Cotton is disgraceful, blatantly racist, and deeply dangerous,” AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Cotton's line of questioning drew a sarcastic reaction fro Rep. Ted Lieu, D-CA. on his X account, directed at Cotton::
"FYI, in Asia there are different countries. Citizens of different countries may look similar to you, but in fact they are from different countries.
"Happy to provide additional basic facts to you or your staff that I learned in elementary school. Ask anytime."
"FYI, in Asia there are different countries. Citizens of different countries may look similar to you, but in fact they are from different countries.
"Happy to provide additional basic facts to you or your staff that I learned in elementary school. Ask anytime."
The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell described Cotton’s line of questioning as “McCarthy-esque,” referring to former US Senator Josph McCarthy, who in the 1950s charged that communists had infiltrated the government and the motion picture industry.
"Not everyone who looks Asian is Chinese, and we're definitely not all members of the Chinese Communist Party. This is racism, plain and simple," Rep. Grace Meng posted on her X account.
Chew’s relationship to China was already discussed exhaustively when he appeared before Congress last March, and Cotton didn’t make clear what his line of questioning had to do with online child safet.
Afterwards, Cotton told NBC: “It’s entirely reasonable to pursue a line of questioning about whether he himself, like his company, is subject to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Afterwards, Cotton told NBC: “It’s entirely reasonable to pursue a line of questioning about whether he himself, like his company, is subject to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The qeustioning by the Republican senators was clearly targeting Chew because of his race.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was never asked by his company's ties to China or the CCP Apple, despite many years of suspicion from members of Congress about the tech giant's ties to the Chinese government influences the content.
AAPI members of Congress have warned that increasing tension between China and the US has ramped up anti-China rhetoric which in turn could increaase anti-Asian American racism and attacks, which has seen a rise because of the previous administration's rhetoric tying the pandemic to China.
“Already, Asian Americans have been suffering three years of anti-Asian hate due to Trump calling Covid-19 ‘China virus’ and ‘kung flu,’” Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told NBC.
“But now, the rhetoric and tension about the U.S.-China relationship comes on top of that, potentially escalating that violence. Today, the focus has shifted to extremists engaging in racial profiling of Chinese Americans.”
“Already, Asian Americans have been suffering three years of anti-Asian hate due to Trump calling Covid-19 ‘China virus’ and ‘kung flu,’” Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told NBC.
“But now, the rhetoric and tension about the U.S.-China relationship comes on top of that, potentially escalating that violence. Today, the focus has shifted to extremists engaging in racial profiling of Chinese Americans.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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