‘Happy to provide additional basic facts to you or your staff that I learned in elementary school. Ask anytime,’ California Democrat tells Tom Cotton
Tom Cotton is facing widespread criticism after he asked Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew if had “ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party”.
The Arkansas Republican senator pursued the much-ridiculed line of questioning during a Senate hearing on child safety on social media on Wednesday, which was attended by a number of big tech CEOs such as Mr Chew.
“You said today, as you often say, that you live in Singapore – of what nation are you a citizen?” Mr Cotton asked.
“Singapore,” the CEO responded.
…
“Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?” Mr Cotton then asked.
“Senator, I’m Singaporean – no,” Mr Chew responded.
Unable to let the matter go, Mr Cotton asked: “Have you ever been associated or affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party?”
“No, senator, again, I’m Singaporean,” the tech CEO said.
I’ll play devil’s advocate. Being Singaporean doesn’t preclude him from having ties to the CCP. Trump is American but clearly has many ties to Russian politics. Whether any of that matters is another question, but the way the article framed this interaction was stupid.