"Which country are you a citizen of? Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship? Have you ever applied for U.S. citizenship? Do you have a Singapore passport? Do you have passports from other countries? ”
On January 31, during a Senate hearing in the U.S. Congress, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton sent a barrage of questions to TikTok CEO Chow Shou Zi, Singaporean. Chow had to repeat his answer again and again: "I'm Singaporean." ”
On January 31, 2024, Cotton was questioning Zhou Shouzi.
Zhou Shouzi, who is answering Cotton's question.
Singapore** said Cotton has been notorious for being "anti-Asian" in recent years. The question is: why did he rush to "prove" that a Singaporean was Chinese at this hearing?
Off-topic hearings
On January 31, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing in Washington entitled "Big Tech Companies and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis".
The hearing, which lasted more than four hours, focused on how to protect young people. Five parents from across the United States recounted their children's tragic experiences at the hearing. A mother complained that social ** lacked management of users, so that her 15-year-old daughter was tricked into taking drugs without knowing it and was subjected to **; Another mother recounted how her child was almost killed by anorexia at the extreme of social **.
On January 31, Zhou Shouzi (center) and four other social ** executives attended a hearing.
However, these tragic stories do not seem to have caught Cotton's attention. When Zhou was questioned, Cotton couldn't wait to digress.
You mentioned earlier that you live in Singapore, which country are you a citizen of? Cotton asked Zhou Shouzi.
I am Singaporean. Zhou Shouzi replied.
Are you a citizen of another country? Cotton then threw out a second question. He ignores the fact that Singapore does not recognize dual citizenship.
I'm not, Senator. Zhou Shouzi replied.
Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship? Cotton revealed the true purpose of the question.
Senator, I have served my country, Singapore, ......Zhou Shouzi tried to release a little helplessly, but before he could finish speaking, Cotton interrupted him. Zhou Shouzi had to reply: "No, I don't." ”
Do you have a Singapore passport? Cotton then asked.
Yes, I served in the Singapore Army for two and a half years. Zhou Shouzi emphasized.
On January 31, Cotton was questioned at the meeting.
For more than a minute, Cotton continued to ask questions about Chow's nationality. To this, Zhou Shouzi had to keep answering: "Senator, (I) say it again: I am Singaporean." ”
This question-and-answer**, which lasted for more than a minute, quickly spread on the Internet in the United States. Many netizens said that Cotton was deliberately "tossing" Zhou Shouzi, and some netizens accused Cotton of "treating him differently" because he saw Zhou Shouzi's "Asian face".
A netizen sarcastically "questioned" Cotton: "Senator, you're white. Do you have a Russian passport? Do you have a German passport? Have a Belgian passport? None of them? Do you only have a U.S. passport? I really don't understand, don't you guys all look the same? ”
Another Singaporean netizen also "popularized" science: Zhou Shouzi is a reserve officer in the Singapore army, and he may be recalled to serve before the age of 50. Singaporeans have a lot of respect for the military. It was an honour to be a Singapore citizen, and his family and childhood friends also lived in Singapore. This is the reason why he (Zhou Shouzi) made such a (helpless) expression when answering questions. ”
Chow Shou Zi while serving in the Singapore Army.
Mahoney, a professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University and an American scholar, said in an interview with reporters that it is not surprising that Cotton grabbed Zhou's nationality, because in the United States, Cotton labeled himself as "anti-China and anti-Chinese." In the eyes of this person, Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities are suspected of being "unpatriotic", and Zhou Shouzi, who is "very much like Chinese", is the target of his attack.
What is surprising is that Cotton, who chased after the wind at the hearing, really has a "patriotic veteran" character.
The cowhide of the "special forces" was blown outIn the United States, Cotton is known as the "Harvard graduate" and was elected to the Senate in 2015. A former member of the U.S. Army, he called himself a "patriotic veteran" to win over conservative voters. But within a few years, his cowhide was blown out.
In 2009, Cotton while serving in the U.S. Army.
In 2021, a number of American** revealed that Cotton had claimed to be a member of the "Rangers" of the US Army Special Forces on many occasions. On his campaign ad, he said "Volunteered to serve in the Rangers." But records show that he only took an 8-week "leadership" course at the "Rangers" school and never really served in the unit.
Despite the pressure, Cotton refused to admit his mistake. His aides said that Cotton "only said that he graduated from Ranger School and received an armband."
Cotton was also a keen advocate of war. In 2022, he published a new book, Only the Strong. Some book reviewers believe that the core point expressed by Cotton in the book is that the United States has become the world's most powerful country because it is "God-given", and war is the main way to maintain this status.
In 2022, Cotton published the book "Only the Strong".
In a 2015 interview, Cotton defended the U.S. military's drone bombing in the Middle East, absurdly saying, "We should save the people there by bombing the people there." ”
In 2019, Cotton said that the U.S. military could defeat Iran with "two strikes." In 2023, he advocated attacking Iran to escalate the situation in the region as a way to demonstrate the "dominance" of the United States.
In 2023, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out. "Even if Israel bombs the Gaza Strip to rubble, I don't care," Cotton said. He also supported the deployment of U.S. troops to the Gaza Strip.
Cotton's belligerence is not only directed against other nations, but also against his own nationals. Mahoney said that in 2020, Floyd, a black American man, was "kneeling and killed" by police, causing people to march in the streets. Cotton openly demanded that troops be sent to suppress it. He has also said that slavery in the United States was "necessary" in the past, denying that there is systemic racism in the United States.
"As a racist, Cotton is trying to shape America the way he wants it, and even affect the world," Mahoney said. In order to achieve this goal, he did not hesitate to let his hands be covered in blood. ”
On China-related issues, Cotton is even more outrageous. He calls himself a radical "economic nationalist" who supports the United States in waging a war against China, and has made wild remarks on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang. In August 2020, ** announced sanctions against 11 Americans, including Cotton, for their bad behavior on Hong Kong-related issues.
During the pandemic, Cotton concocted a lot of lies to claim that the coronavirus was "made" by a Chinese lab. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, he posted an article trying to oppose the participation of American athletes, talking nonsense that "China will use the DNA of American athletes to create super soldiers".
In March 2021, Cotton released a report entitled "Defeating China" on his personal **, advocating that the United States completely decouple from China in the fields of economy, scientific research and other fields.
In 2022, Cotton is attending the conference.
"Other Americans are ashamed of him."
In recent years, TikTok has repeatedly been targeted by American politicians. During the 2020 U.S. **, a number of U.S. politicians labeled TikTok as "threatening" and "interfering in the United States".
In order to continue to serve U.S. users, TikTok launched the "Texas Project" to store all U.S. user data on servers located in Texas and subject to review by U.S. authorities. The program will cost $1.5 billion and come with additional operating costs of $7 to $1 billion per year.
Despite the great sincerity shown by TikTok, American politicians did not let it go. In March 2023, Zhou Shouzi appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearings, which were questioned by lawmakers from both parties in turn.
TikTok's office in Los Angeles.
Ironically, despite being besieged by American politicians, TikTok is still supported by a large number of American users. On the day of the hearing, an African-American user posted on his personal account that he denounced the hearing as "extremely bad." He said he learned a lot on TikTok. "I'm not going back to other platforms......I'm completely on TikTok's side. ”
Some users expressed their support in the ** message area posted by Zhou's personal account. One user wrote: "Whatever the outcome, thank you for providing such a platform to the world. We will not forget that you are the one who connects us. Another user said, "I apologize to you on behalf of the U.S. Congress." You are awesome. ”
Zhou Shouzi's calm performance at that hearing also made him quickly popular in the United States, and he was jokingly called "Asian male god" by netizens. However, in less than a year, this "male god" was once again unreasonably attacked by politicians such as Cotton.
"Male God Zhou Paid" produced by American netizens**
However, the eyes of American netizens are also bright. Cotton's ridiculous questioning quickly spread on the Internet, and many American netizens shouted shame. A netizen reluctantly wrote on social **: "To people all over the world: Tom Cotton only represents a small group of Americans, and other Americans feel ashamed of him." ”
*: Global Figures).