AAPILC Criticizes Dangerous Rhetoric by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              MEDIA CONTACT

February 1, 2024                                                                 Isa Whalen, Isa.Whalen@sen.ca.gov 

                                                                                             Lucy Khuu, Lucy.Khuu@asm.ca.gov 

AAPILC Criticizes Dangerous Rhetoric by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton 

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPILC) stands with the AAPI community against the dangerous rhetoric by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. 

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on child safety online, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is Singaporean, about his citizenship and potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This line of questioning by Senator Cotton is not only ignorant, but it perpetuates xenophobia against the AAPI community. 

Since March 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has reported over 11,000 acts of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Many of these incidents have been correlated to xenophobic statements about China and Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Our leadership at the local, state, and federal levels must be held accountable for the racist rhetoric they use that further exacerbates the acts of violence and hate against the AAPI community. 

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Website of the California AAPI Legislative Caucus: https://aapilegcaucus.legislature.ca.gov