China

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined his colleagues in urging the Kansas City Aviation Department to reject any proposed sale of passenger boarding bridges to Kansas City International Airport (KCI) by CIMC-Tianda, a Chinese state-backed company. The lawmakers warn that CIMC-Tianda’s passenger bridges may allow the Chinese government to access the personal data of airport employees or to disrupt communications between ground control and aircraft.

Senator Hawley spoke out this morning against tech insiders’ attempts to gut provisions in the FY 2021 NDAA that would end the Department of Defense’s (DoD) dangerous overreliance on Chinese printed circuit boards (PCBs). "Tech insiders are trying to gut provisions of the defense funding bill that would restrict use of Chinese tech products. Senate negotiators, don’t give in! This is not the time to go soft on #China"

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.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Disney CEO Robert Chapek condemning the company for whitewashing the ongoing genocide of Uighurs 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...

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.

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.

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).

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.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices. Senator Hawley’s bill, introduced with Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), will now move to the Senate floor.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) challenged corporate America and celebrities that hawk their products to pledge that they do not rely on slave labor for production. Senator Hawley announced the pledge this morning and he has already called on Nike, LeBron James, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to take the pledge.