Senator Questioned TikTok CEO About China Ties, Prompting Backlash
• Senator Tom Cotton questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a Senate hearing, asking if he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party or affiliated with them. The CEO, a Singaporean citizen, said no.
• Cotton faced widespread criticism and mockery for the line of questioning, with many pointing out that Singapore is a separate nation from China and not communist.
• Critics called Cotton "racist" and a "dip***t" for implying any Asian must be tied to China and the Communist Party.
• The senator also asked Chew about the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs, which Chew mostly declined to comment on.
• Other lawmakers and commentators condemned Cotton for not seeming to understand Asia has different countries and citizens that are distinct from China and its government.