00:00 Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship?
00:02 Senator, I served my nation in Singapore. No, I did not.
00:05 In a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Tom Cotton is under scrutiny for his
00:13 questioning of TikTok CEO, Shaw Z. Chu. The focus of the inquiry was ostensibly about children's
00:20 safety on the platform. However, Cotton's line of questioning had sparked controversy,
00:26 particularly concerning issues of race and discrimination.
00:30 Despite Chou voluntarily attending the hearing to address concerns about TikTok,
00:36 Cotton repeatedly pressed him on his connection to China.
00:40 Chou, a citizen of Singapore, faced a barrage of inquiries about the citizenship,
00:46 his military service in Singapore and his potential affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party.
00:52 The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus swiftly condemned Cotton's approach,
00:58 criticizing the repeated questioning on racist and dangerous. With 77 members comprising the
01:05 caucus, they expressed concern about the implications of conflating an individual
01:10 ethnicity and political affiliation. CAPAC first vice-chairwoman Grace Mench went further
01:18 addressing the interrogation as racist and raising the question of why similar inquiries were not
01:24 passed to other executives present at the hearing. Grace suggested that Cotton's line of questioning
01:31 lacked the necessary research and was instead thoughtless and derogatory.
01:36 It's essential to note that neither China nor Singapore allows dual citizenship for the citizens.
01:43 Cotton defended his line of questioning citing Chou's previous employment with a Chinese company
01:49 sanctioned by the US and TikTok's parent company, ByteDance being based in China.
01:54 As the controversy unfolds, questions linger about the boundaries of inquiry
02:01 and the potential perpetuation of racial stereotypes in political discourse.
02:06 Stay tuned for updates on this developing story as discussions on racism, discrimination
02:12 and responsible questioning take centre stage in the aftermath of this Senate hearing.
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