China

Senator Hawley Calls for CFIUS to Reject TikTok Partnership, Violates President’s Executive Order

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter to Secretary Steve Mnuchin calling on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to reject Oracle’s proposed partnership with ByteDance to obtain control of TikTok’s U.S. operations. Senator Hawley writes that the proposed partnership allows for continued Chinese Communist Party control of TikTok, putting American data at risk and violating President Trump’s executive order.

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Hawley Condemns Disney for Whitewashing Genocide in Production of Mulan, Asks Whether They Will Pull Film

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Disney CEO Robert Chapek condemning the company for whitewashing the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities during the production of Mulan. In producing the movie, Disney traveled to the Xinjiang province where atrocities are occurring, collaborated with local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda organs, and gave “special thanks” to a CCP agency in charge of administering concentration camps in Xinjiang. Senator Hawley writes that Disney has crossed the line from complacency into complicity.

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Hawley’s Bill to Ban TikTok on Government Devices Passes Senate Unanimously

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices unanimously passed the Senate. Senator Hawley’s bill, introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), would follow up on steps already taken by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and TSA to ban the app on federal government devices due to security concerns.

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Senator Hawley Demands Microsoft Sever All Ties to ByteDance, CCP in Potential TikTok Acquisition

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella demanding that TikTok sever any and all ties to ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in any potential acquisition by Microsoft. Senator Hawley writes that there have been a number of recent conflicting reports about Microsoft’s plans and it is not clear whether the app will include vulnerabilities that allow the CCP to access American users’ data.

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Hawley, Blumenthal Call for DOJ Investigation into Zoom, TikTok

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into Zoom and TikTok for reported violations of Americans’ civil liberties and of their close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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Hawley Scorches NBA for Refusal to Criticize CCP, Calls for Commissioner to Testify Before Congress

In response to Senator Josh Hawley’s July letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum would not commit to protecting employees or players who publicly criticize the Chinese Communist Party, calling it a “hypothetical question.” Senator Hawley said the NBA’s letter “reads like lawyers in Beijing drafted it” and called for Commissioner Silver to testify before Congress.

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Senator Hawley to Zoom: “Pick A Side: American Principles and Free-Speech, or Short-Term Global Profits and Censorship”

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Zoom calling for the company to choose a side: American principles and free-speech, or short-term global profits and censorship. His letter comes after Zoom chose to close the accounts of prominent U.S.-based critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for discussing the Tiananmen Square massacre, claiming the closures were necessary to “comply with local law.”

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