Chinese short video company TikTok’s CEO
Chew Shou Zi
on Wednesday, January 31, appeared alongside the chief executives of technology companies Discord, Facebook parent Meta, Snap and X (formerly Twitter) to testify before American lawmakers over concerns about the harmful effects of social media on children. This was Chew’s second appearance before US lawmakers in less than a year.
In March 2023, Chew was questioned about TikTok’s ties to China and its safety precautions for children. Chew faced similar questions at January 31st hearing.
US senator
Tom Cotton repeatedly asked TikTok's Singaporean CEO Chew about his ties with China and if he had ever belonged to the Chinese Communist party.
How Chew was grilled about his 'Chinese ties'
“You said today, as you often say, that you live in Singapore. Of what nation are you a citizen?” asked Senator Tom Cotton. Despite Chew stating he was Singaporean, Cotton continued to press him. “Are you a citizen of any other nation?” he asked, and followed up with whether Chew had ever applied for Chinese citizenship and if he held a Singaporean passport.
Chew responded no to both the questions, adding that he had fulfilled his national service to his home country by serving in the Singaporean military for 2 and a half years. This is a requirement for all Singaporean men. Cotton also asked if Chew was a member of China’s Communist Party, to which again Chew responded: “Senator, I’m Singaporean, no.” He was then asked that his wife and child have American citizenship, did he too applied for American citizenship ever. To this he said, "No, not yet."
US senator defends grilling Chew
Cotton defended his questioning of Chew’s ties with China’s Communist Party. “Singapore, unfortunately, is one of the places in the world that has the highest degree of infiltration and influence by the Chinese Communist Party,” Cotton said on Fox News on Wednesday. “So, Mr Chew has a lot to answer for, for what his app is doing in America and why it’s doing it,” he said just hours after the hearing concluded.
English (US) ·