A new poll found that more than two-thirds of Americans, a whopping 68%, agree with legislation forcing ByteDance, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist government, to sell its stake in TikTok. That legislation has been passed by the GOP-controlled House and is waiting for Senate passage.
The <a href="https://america2100.org/america-2100-poll-bipartisan-majority-of-americans-support-tiktok-divestment-bill/">poll</a>, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and released by America 2100, also found that 73% of Republicans agreed with the legislation as well as 64% of Democrats and 65% of independents. Seventy-five percent of Trump voters and 67% of Biden voters also agree, and in a telling statistic, 56% of TikTok users echo the sentiment.
“Americans see China for the threat that it is, and they don’t want their social media apps controlled by a hostile foreign adversary,” America 2100 Senior Advisor Nate Hochman stated. “Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats will have to choose between placating a loud, left-wing, TikTok-addicted activist base, and the American majority that wants the Chinese Communist Party out of our tech platforms — and our country.”
News of ByteDance’s involvement with TikTok has apparently spread like wildfire; a massive 84% of Americans know that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company; additionally, 73% are concerned TikTok is owned by China.
On March 13, the House passed the bill that could lead to a ban on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok">TikTok</a> unless ByteDance divested in the popular social media app.
The legislation, known as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” was <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202486">approved by a 352-65 vote</a>. Fifty Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the measure. 
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The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7521/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> noted that an “entity that violates subsection (a) shall be subject to pay a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the amount that results from multiplying $5,000 by the number of users within the land or maritime borders of the United States determined to have accessed, maintained, or updated a foreign adversary controlled application as a result of such violation.&#8221; 
<blockquote>It shall be unlawful for an entity to distribute, maintain, or update (or enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of) a foreign adversary controlled application by carrying out, within the land or maritime borders of the  United States, any of the following: 
Providing services to distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary con- trolled application (including any source code of such application) by means of a marketplace (including an online mobile application store) through which users within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update such application. Providing internet hosting services to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of such foreign adversary controlled application for users within the land or maritime borders of the United States.</blockquote>
The penalties could be staggering: TikTok <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/150-m-us-users">boasted</a> in March 2023 that it had 150 million American users.

TikTok

Overwhelming Majority Of Americans Support Legislation That Would Force Chinese Divestment From TikTok, New Survey Finds

Big Tech

China

Chinese Communist Party

U.S.

On Sunday, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) offered a defense of the bill <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-bill-that-could-lead-to-u-s-ban-on-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> by the lower chamber last week that could lead to a U.S. ban on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> unless its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, divests in the popular social media app.
&#8220;This Week&#8221; anchor Martha Raddatz asked Turner about the legislation on ABC News, noting that his support for the bill is one area in which he has broken with former President Donald Trump. &#8220;That bill could potentially ban TikTok. You say it’s a national security concern,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I know you had that classified briefing. What can you tell us to make it more clear to Americans why this is a problem?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner tells <a href="https://twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarthaRaddatz</a> that he doesn’t think Americans will lose their livelihood with bill that would require that the Chinese ownership of TikTok be divested. 
“This is not a ban on TikTok.” <a href="https://t.co/p5kCVrCdGw">https://t.co/p5kCVrCdGw</a> <a href="https://t.co/WQATZTaSft">pic.twitter.com/WQATZTaSft</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1769361271147634798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Turner replied, &#8220;We have to first start with, that China is a country that’s not like us. It’s an authoritarian regime that has self-identified as an adversary to the United States. It has banned Twitter. It has banned Facebook. It has banned YouTube in China.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;It understands the power of social media and social media apps. It certainly seeks in a number of illegal ways to obtain the data of Americans that it can use as part of its perpetration of this greater surveillance society that it uses to control its own population.&#8221;
When Chinese President Xi Jinping stood next to President Vladimir Putin in Russia, Turner continued, &#8220;he openly said it to the world what his intentions were. He said that we, the two of them, are going to bring about change that hasn’t happened in 100 years. That’s the battle between authoritarianism and democracy and that’s certainly what we’re seeing in China’s — both economic, its propaganda and certainly its military buildup that is part of its self-declaration as an adversary of the United States.&#8221;
Raddatz asked the congressman if there is &#8220;recent&#8221; evidence showing that TikTok is sending &#8220;significant&#8221; amounts of data about Americans to the Chinese government.
&#8220;What you see is a structural relationship for which there is not divisions, and there are great concerns about the individuals&#8217; privacy and issues of data between TikTok and the communist Chinese party,&#8221; Turner replied.
&#8220;But what you have even more importantly here is that this is a propaganda tool, these algorithms, this influencing through social apps, being in the hands of a self-declared adversary of the United States, one that has&#8230;banned Twitter, banned Facebook and banned YouTube, understands the use of these tools to be able to manipulate a society, and that’s certainly is one the greatest concerns that we have,&#8221; he said.
The Senate is up next in considering the legislation, which demands ByteDance sell TikTok within 180 days of enactment or risk having the app face a clampdown in the United States. If it were to pass in the upper chamber too, President Joe Biden has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-tiktok-ban-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he would sign the bill into law.
Raddatz closed out the interview by noting, &#8220;You had a lot of TikTokkers up on the Hill this week who—and TikTok apparently supports a minimum of 224,000 jobs in this country.&#8221; She then asked Turner what he would say to Americans who might lose their livelihood.
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&#8220;I don’t think they’ll lose their livelihood. They have obviously undertaken a livelihood that is communicating to people through social apps and social media, and this is not a ban on TikTok as you know. This is actually a piece of legislation that requires that the Chinese ownership of TikTok be divested so that we would sever that relationship between Chinese ownership, the Chinese government, the Chinese communist party that is of such troubling concerns,&#8221; he replied.
&#8220;And, you know, India has previously banned TikTok over the exact same concerns. These are concerns that as you look at what China is doing around the world, their propagation of a surveillance society, their even illegal means in which they’re acquiring data on Americans and people around the world, their use of propaganda, their own banning of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because of their concerns of the voices of democracy being heard, you can see what a great concern this is to our country.&#8221;

House Intelligence Chairman Michael Turner

House Intel Chair Defends TikTok Bill, Warns Of Chinese ‘Propaganda Tool’

House Intel Chair Defends TikTok Bill, Warns Of Chinese 'Propaganda Tool'

Communist China

Congress

Mike Turner

Politics

Social Media

Top Democrat and Republican senators warned over the weekend that TikTok, the social media app <a href="https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2023/8/tiktok-china-s-influence-is-right-at-our-fingertips">allegedly</a> controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, is &#8220;the most powerful propaganda tool&#8221; that officials have ever seen.
The remarks from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) and Ranking Member Marco Rubio (R-FL) on CBS News&#8217;s &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; come as the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill this week that would force ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to divest its ownership in the company or it will be banned in the U.S.
Warner slammed President Joe Biden&#8217;s presidential campaign for joining TikTok, saying it sent &#8220;a pretty darn mixed message.&#8221;
Warner warned that TikTok poses a threat to the U.S. by collecting Americans&#8217; data and manipulating what they see to turn them against each other.
&#8220;If you don&#8217;t think the Chinese Communist Party can twist that algorithm to make it the news that they see reflective of their views, then I don&#8217;t think you appreciate the nature of the threat,&#8221; Warner said. &#8220;Would the United States ever allow China to buy CBS? I don&#8217;t think they would. And we might have slightly different ways on how we go at this, but we think this is a national security issue.&#8221;
Rubio said people get so hooked on TikTok because its algorithm has a powerful &#8220;recommender engine, which is one of the best in the world.&#8221;
&#8220;That is owned by ByteDance. Under Chinese law, ByteDance must own it,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;And the only way that that recommender engine works is if they have access to the data. So it doesn&#8217;t matter who you sell TikTok to, where they&#8217;re headquartered, doesn&#8217;t even matter where they stored the data. As long as ByteDance engineers in China have access to the algorithm — have access to that data — control the algorithm, they have to have access to American data to make it work. And that&#8217;s what we need to confront. That&#8217;s the reality here.&#8221;
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Warner concluded in his warning: &#8220;Manipulating that algorithm can mean what kind of information you&#8217;re going to see. And if you don&#8217;t think that could be used as the most powerful propaganda tool ever, then I don&#8217;t think you appreciate the threat.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Senator Mark Warner and Senator Marco Rubio on &quot;Face the Nation,&quot; March 10, 2024 | full interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jpgibjm4o9g?start=1797&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Marco Rubio Mark Warner

Top Democrat, Republican Intel Senators Blast TikTok: ‘The Most Powerful Propaganda Tool Ever’

Marco Rubio

Mark Warner

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 269 Chinese nationals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally on Monday, raising the number of Chinese illegal immigrants encountered by Border Patrol agents to over 20,000 in the past five months alone.
A CBP source <a href="https://twitter.com/BillMelugin_/status/1757448558092202280" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News’ Bill Melugin that the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector detained 269 illegal immigrants from China in a single day after CBP reported that agents from the same border sector <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/border-patrol-san-diego-sector-apprehends-thousands-migrants-from-73-countries-one-week-span" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apprehended</a> over 8,500 illegal immigrants from 73 different countries in one week at the beginning of February. In fiscal year 2024 alone, which began in October 2023, more than 20,000 Chinese nationals have been encountered at the border — that’s compared to 450 who crossed in all of fiscal year 2021, Melugin reported.
Chinese nationals looking to enter the U.S. illegally now make up the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-are-the-fastest-growing-group-illegally-crossing-u-s-borders-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fastest-growing</a> group of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-migrants-fastest-growing-group-us-mexico-border-60-minutes-transcript/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Chinese migrants reportedly find step-by-step instructions for hiring smugglers on the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok. Many Chinese migrants fly from China to Ecuador, which doesn’t require a visa for Chinese nationals, before they fly to Tijuana, Mexico, where they meet and pay smugglers willing to take them to the U.S. southern border.
Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-he-believes-ccp-is-directing-flow-of-chinese-nationals-to-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo that he believes the Chinese Communist Party is directing the flow of Chinese nationals coming to the U.S. Asked about the possibility of the CCP pushing Chinese nationals to the U.S., which Bartiromo noted has increased of late, Trump responded, “I believe so. And I believe we’re going to have a terrorist attack. 100%.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trump on illegal immigration and whether he believes Chinese nationals are being directed by the CCP to go to America:
&quot;I believe so, and I believe we&#39;re going to have a terrorist attack. 100%.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Pcb3eLOhtl">pic.twitter.com/Pcb3eLOhtl</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1754165068386770969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump added that the increase in Chinese illegal immigrants could pose a national security threat, pondering whether an “army” is being put together.
“And they were mostly men, almost all men from the age of 18 to 25. So what’s that all about?” he asked.
The surge in Chinese citizens entering the U.S. illegally coincides with the ongoing fight between Republicans and the Biden administration on border security and immigration reform. Since Biden took office in January 2021, at least eight million illegal immigrants have been encountered at the border, not including gotaways, according to <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBP data</a>.
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/speaker-johnson-rips-senate-foreign-aid-package-for-lacking-real-border-security-provisions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> a $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the Senate that he said lacked &#8220;real&#8221; border security provisions, failing &#8220;to address the most critical aspect of national security supplemental legislation.&#8221;
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Border Wall

Border Patrol Apprehends Hundreds Of Chinese Nationals In Single Day, Over 20K Encountered So Far In FY 2024

Border Crisis

Customs and Border Protection (CPB)

Illegal Immigration

State Armor, a group dedicated to fighting national security threats on the state level, announced its launch on Wednesday.
The <a href="https://statearmor.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">group</a>, founded and run by Michael Lucci, seeks to educate state lawmakers and push legislation designed to combat Chinese Communist influence operations and threats from other hostile governments.
“States are now on the front lines against foreign adversaries. In fact, for years states have been targeted by well-resourced, technologically sophisticated foreign adversaries, particularly communist China,” Lucci said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/state-armor-announces-launch-302049381.html">statement</a>. “The Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a broad effort to supplant the United States so it can rewrite global norms according to its authoritarian model. To achieve its goals, the CCP aggressively pursues a strategy to gain economic leverage over state and local governments, to make states dependent on their technologies, and to suppress the First Amendment-protected speech of Chinese dissidents within America.”
“China’s communist government is already succeeding in targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and is insinuating itself in the fabric of American society — our economy, even our children’s schools — for leverage it may one day use. They harass and intimidate Chinese dissidents and Chinese Americans in our own free country. It must end,” he said.
State Armor has broken combatting the threat from China into four parts: protecting critical infrastructure, creating and protecting supply chains, stopping influence operations, and preparing for armed conflict in the Pacific – a growing possibility as China threatens Taiwan.
China has made recent aggressive overtures toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims is part of China. The threats against Taiwan, the world’s leading producer of semiconductors, have complicated China’s relationship with the United States, which uses advanced Taiwanese semiconductors in many of its military weaponry.
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Lucci’s initiative has found support among top lawmakers and national security experts. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, praised State Armor in a statement.
“From CCP-affiliated purchases of agricultural land to efforts by the party to influence state and local politics, states are on the front lines of our New Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party. We may call this a ‘strategic competition,’ but this is not a polite tennis match. The most fundamental human rights and freedoms are at stake. I commend State Armor for acting with a sense of urgency to expose the CCP’s nefarious networks across our states and equip local lawmakers with the tools to fight this New Cold War,” Gallagher said.

Chinese flag

New Group Seeks To Recruit States To Fight Chinese Communist Influence: ‘It Must End’

National Security

United States

A report from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/national-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Government Accountability Office</a> (GAO) found that there were major flaws in the government&#8217;s tracking of foreign land purchases, exposing the United States to national security risks.
The <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106337" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, which was requested by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture, said that the Department of Agriculture does “not share timely data on foreign investments in agricultural land,” and that the processes in place for sharing the data are complex and difficult to understand.
Lawmakers have raised concerns about Chinese ownership of American farmland, especially land that is near to U.S. military installations.
Foreign investment in American land increased in 2021 to about 40 million acres, according to USDA estimates. “These investments may have consequences for U.S. national security. For example, there may be foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land close to sensitive military installations,” the GAO <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106337high.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
There have been growing efforts at the state level to prevent foreign ownership of land near the military bases and calls for action at the federal level.
“Growing foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China, poses a direct threat to our food security and national security. Safeguarding our farmland and food supply requires a whole of government approach and we will continue to work with the impacted agencies, related committees, and leadership to continue our robust oversight and to identify legislative vehicles to address the findings of the GAO report,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-thompson-statement-on-gao-report-on-foreign-ownership-of-u-s-farmland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in response to the release of the report.
According to the report, the processes the USDA uses “to collect, track, and report key information are flawed.” Defense Department officials also told the GAO that they need information “that is more up-to-date and more specific, and they need to receive this information more than once a year.”
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The report listed several recommendations for the USDA to take to improve their reporting system, including establishing a more timely process to report foreign investments and updating the forms used to report the data.
“This report confirms one of our worst fears: that not only is the USDA unable to answer the question of who owns what land and where, but that there is no plan by the department to internally reverse this dangerous flaw that affects our supply chain and economy. Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence our food supply while we stick our heads in the sand,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) <a href="https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-statement-new-gao-report-foreign-land-investment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in response to the report&#8217;s release.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1748381895996440957/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> Congress to pass legislation he proposed that would prohibit Chinese Communist Party members or entities from buying American land.

Beautiful Farmland Patterns Seen From Steptoe Butte, Washington.

Report Finds Major Flaws With How Government Tracks Foreign Ownership Of Farmland

Agriculture

General

Top House Republicans are requesting a briefing on the spread of illegal Chinese-backed marijuana farms across the United States from the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire.
The Friday <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/2024-01-12-Green-Pfluger-Higgins-to-DHS-DEA-re-Illicit-Marijuana-Grow-Operations.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> from House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-TN), Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) asks for a meeting with the DHS and DEA over what is being done about the proliferation of Chinese marijuana farms. Pfluger is the chair of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence, and Higgins is the chair of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. 
“The Committee on Homeland Security (Committee) is growing increasingly alarmed by the number of illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms that have been seized by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States. Many of these illicit grow operations work in conjunction with transnational criminal organizations,” the letter, addressed to DHS Chair Alejandro Mayorkas and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, said. 
“Illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms have been found across the country and pose significant risks to our nation’s security. First, illicit marijuana farms provide unregulated access for consumers to Schedule 1 substances and help provide additional revenue sources to transnational criminal organizations. Many of these operations have also been found to have labor conditions that are emblematic of human trafficking and forced labor practices. In addition, Chinese investors have financed some of these illegal operations, and these investments include cash payment for large swaths of land to conduct these operations,” the letter said, pointing out that lawmakers have raised red flags over large purchases of land by Chinese nationals. 
The Republicans want a briefing schedule with the agencies by January 25. “This briefing should include, but not be limited to, information about the actions your agencies are conducting to monitor, investigate, and dismantle illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms, as well as information about the links these illegal farms have to transnational criminal organizations and foreign entities,” they wrote. 
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In the last several years, Chinese-backed marijuana operations have cropped up across the United States, including major drug busts in New Mexico and Maine, where Border Patrol has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-chinese-marijuana-grow-operations-worth-billions-cropping-up-in-maine-border-patrol-memo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> identified up to 270 illegal marijuana grow operations throughout Maine that are worth billions of dollars. 
In November, a suspected Chinese national was arrested in rural Tennessee for allegedly operating a large marijuana growing operation out of an old church. A Daily Wire request for the police report on the arrest was denied due to an ongoing investigation into the operation. 
House Republicans <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/2023/04/25/green-pfluger-examine-homeland-security-threats-posed-by-secret-ccp-operated-police-stations-on-u-s-soil/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have</a> been investigating efforts by China to influence the U.S. and spread propaganda throughout the country, including the operation of a Chinese police station in New York City.

Marijuana farm

Top Republicans Investigating Spread Of Chinese-Backed Marijuana Farms In United States

Department of Homeland Security

Marijuana

Mark Green

American business titans who paid thousands to be in the room with Chinese President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xi Jinping</a> gave the communist country&#8217;s leader a standing ovation after his remarks in San Francisco this week.
On Wednesday evening, Xi dined with more than 300 American business executives and delivered remarks promoting investment in China, a country many Americans <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/27/americans-name-china-as-the-country-posing-the-greatest-threat-to-the-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consider</a> the greatest threat to the U.S., at a gala in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in downtown San Francisco.
“The number one question for us is: are we adversaries or partners?” Xi <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/business/economy/china-us-business-xi-jinping-ceos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during his remarks. “China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States.”
Among the American executives gathered to listen to Xi were Apple CEO Tim Cook, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stanley Deal, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Mastercard&#8217;s independent board chairwoman Merit Janow.
Apple&#8217;s chief was <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/16/xi-dinner-with-us-ceos-tim-cook-elon-musk-steve-schwarzman-spotted.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seated</a> next to Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, place cards reportedly showed.
Also in attendance were executives from Amway, Honeywell, Broadcom, Las Vegas Sands, Gilead Sciences, investment firm KKR, and Fulgent Genetics, a genetic testing lab in Los Angeles.
Attendees rose and applauded when Xi concluded his half hour of remarks, a video from the event shows.
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My view of the standing ovation for Chinese President Xi Jinping tonight in San Francisco from a ballroom full of some of the most powerful American CEOs and Chinese officials. I’ll have more Thursday morning on ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SquawkCNBC</a>⁩ on ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNBC</a>⁩. <a href="https://t.co/WP6MVeBLfZ">pic.twitter.com/WP6MVeBLfZ</a>
&mdash; Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) <a href="https://twitter.com/EamonJavers/status/1725037760149631248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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BREAKING: List of elite American executives dining with genocidal communist “Guest of Honor” Xi Jinping last night for $40,000 in San Francisco. 
&#8211; Tim Cook <a href="https://twitter.com/Apple?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Apple</a> &#8211; Stephen Schwarzman <a href="https://twitter.com/blackstone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@blackstone</a> &#8211; Larry Fink <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackRock?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlackRock</a> &#8211; Stanley Deal <a href="https://twitter.com/Boeing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Boeing</a> &#8211; Merit Janow <a href="https://twitter.com/Mastercard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mastercard</a> -… <a href="https://t.co/QnRItp7Kpo">pic.twitter.com/QnRItp7Kpo</a>
&mdash; Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) <a href="https://twitter.com/committeeonccp/status/1725125452447068249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Tesla CEO Elon <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/16/xi-dinner-with-us-ceos-tim-cook-elon-musk-steve-schwarzman-spotted.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Musk</a> attended the VIP reception, but did not stay for the dinner, according to event organizers.
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Several members of the Biden administration attended the dinner, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, and top White House China advisor Kurt Campbell.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was seated at the head table. California State Treasurer Fiona Ma attended the dinner as well.
Tickets for the event <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/15/apec-xi-jinping-san-francisco-dinner-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost</a> $2,000 each. However, companies could pay $40,000 for eight seats at a table plus one seat at Xi’s table.
The dinner was organized by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Outside, protesters gathered to demonstrate against the Chinese president&#8217;s visit. One woman strapped herself to a pole 25 feet in the air in the rain, yelling “Free Tibet!”
Americans with Tibetan, Hong Kong, and Uyghur heritage expressed frustration that Xi was being given a friendly reception.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Chinese president met with President Biden just south of San Francisco at the Filoli estate, where they spoke for several hours.
Republicans quickly slammed Xi&#8217;s visit as &#8220;fruitless.&#8221;
&#8220;Having these senior level meetings without getting anything in return and without having any desired outcomes sets a horrible precedent and makes the United States look incredibly weak,&#8221; House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) <a class="Link" href="https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/mccaul-on-president-bidens-disappointing-meeting-with-chairman-xi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday.
Xi last visited the U.S. in 2017 during the Trump administration.
Last year, China did <a href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly</a> $760 billion worth of trade with the U.S., and the trade deficit with China was $367.4 billion in 2022.

US-APEC-SUMMIT

WATCH: American Executives Give Chinese President Standing Ovation In San Francisco

American Executives Give Chinese President Standing Ovation In San Francisco

Biden Administration

California

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Xi Jinping

The Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok is propagandizing young Americans to back terrorists against Israel, according to Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a video posted Saturday that TikTok “is perhaps the largest-scale malign influence operation ever conducted.” The Wisconsin Republican said the platform is in large part responsible for anti-Israel attitudes among young Americans.
Gallagher cited a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll from last month that showed 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 believe that Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel “can be justified by the grievance of Palestinians,” according to the <a href="https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HHP_Oct23_KeyResults.pdf">poll</a>.
“How do we reach a point where a majority of young Americans hold such a morally bankrupt view of the world? Where many young Americans were rooting for terrorists who kidnapped American citizens and against a key American ally, our closest ally in the Middle East?” Gallagher asked.
The answer is TikTok, he said. The social media app is run by its parent company, Bytedance, a Chinese tech company. Republicans and Democrats have accused TikTok of being a Chinese propaganda outfit. Multiple state governments have banned the app over security concerns.
“TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, is Chinese, and in China there is no such thing as a private company. We know for a fact that the CCP uses TikTok to push its propaganda and censor views that diverge from the party line,” Gallagher said.
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Numerous reports have found TikTok censoring and suppressing content about Xinjiang, Tibet, Tiananmen Square, and other issues sensitive to the CCP. TikTok has also suppressed content about LGBT issues, and even temporarily blocked a teenage American Muslim activist who criticized the CCP’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims,” Gallagher said. “If you doubt that the CCP would introduce anti-Semitic or anti-Western bias into apps under its de facto control, consider that on October 31st, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese web platforms Baidu and Alibaba have wiped Israel off the map.”
The Wisconsin representative compared TikTok’s impact on America to “if, in 1962, right before the Cuban Missile Crisis, we had allowed Pravda and the KGB to purchase The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, and NBC.”
“It’s time to ban TikTok, or at least force the sale to an American company. The clock is ticking,” Gallagher said.
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WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/RepGallagher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@repgallagher</a>: How are so many young people in America siding with Hamas terrorists?
Who have killed at least 30 Americans and kidnapped a dozen more, still at this moment holding 10 hostages.
Where are they getting their news? 
The answer, increasingly, is TikTok &#8211; an… <a href="https://t.co/RDaTamjrHC">pic.twitter.com/RDaTamjrHC</a>
&mdash; The Select Committee on the CCP (@committeeonccp) <a href="https://twitter.com/committeeonccp/status/1720791984632127715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Mike Gallagher

TikTok Driving Young Americans To Root ‘For Terrorists,’ GOP Lawmaker Says

Hamas

Israel

World

House Republicans are questioning the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ford-motor-co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ford Motor Company</a> about an electric vehicle battery factory project in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan</a> and its ties to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a>. 
Republicans from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce <a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/09_01_23_E_and_C_Letter_FORD_ae9859a956.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a letter</a> to Ford CEO James Farley on September 1 requesting information on the company’s relationship with Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL). The partnership, made in February, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-slammed-for-teaming-up-with-chinese-company-to-build-batteries-becoming-a-national-security-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">garnered criticism</a> from some lawmakers who pointed to national security concerns. 
“While Ford has labeled this project a ‘commitment to American manufacturing’ and asserts it will create 2,500 new American jobs, we are concerned that Ford’s partnership with a Chinese company could aid China’s efforts to expand its control over United States electric vehicle supply chains and jeopardize national security by furthering dependence on China,” the letter said. 
The letter referenced a move by Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin to scuttle a similar potential partnership between Ford and CATL in his state before the Michigan partnership was announced.
“While Ford is an iconic American company, it became clear that this proposal would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist party, which could compromise our economic security and Virginians’ personal privacy,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter <a href="https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/ford-plant-halted-by-youngkin-would-have-created-2-500-jobs-in-southside/article_9edc230a-95dc-11ed-bdd8-2301b6df2e06.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Richmond Times-Dispatch</a> at the time. 
In the letter to Farley, Republicans referenced congressional testimony that said CATL could stop working on the project if tensions between the U.S. and China escalated, leaving the vehicle maker in a bind over how to source batteries for its vehicles. The lawmakers also questioned who would be employed at the plant currently under construction in Marshall, Michigan. 
“Additionally, Members learned at this hearing that Chinese companies often supply their own workers to projects in Latin America and Africa, reinforcing fears that CATL will import workers for this facility rather than creating jobs for United States workers,” the letter said. 
The GOP lawmakers requested a copy of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL, along with communications from Ford discussing federal incentives for the project. 
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“We seek to learn more about whether this partnership, and others like it, will potentially exacerbate our reliance on China. Should China gain control of domestic electric vehicle production, the United States would be exposed to serious national security risks at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions,” the Republicans said. 
Business relations between the U.S. and China have faced increased scrutiny in recent years over intellectual property theft and national security precautions as tensions with China remain high.

CATL battery cell factory

House Republicans Question Ford Over Michigan Electric Vehicle Battery Plant Tied To China

Ford Motor Co.

Glenn Youngkin

Michigan

A federal judge rejected attempts by four Chinese citizens and a real-estate firm on Thursday to block a new Florida law restricting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese nationals</a> and nationals of some other countries from purchasing land or homes in the state.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor denied an injunction requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs seeking to overturn the law, contending the group failed to prove the law’s purpose is to discriminate based on national origin and race rather than based on citizenship.
Winsor, who former President Donald Trump appointed, wrote in a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/shen-v-simpson?document=Preliminary-Injunction-Decision#legal-documents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">51-page decision</a> that U.S. Supreme Court precedents have “held that states could deny aliens ownership interests in land within their respective borders absent an arbitrary or unreasonable basis.”
“It does not facially discriminate against noncitizens based on race or ancestry. It does not discriminate against noncitizens based on ‘the particular country in which one was born,’” Winsor wrote in part, quoting a Supreme Court precedent. “So contrary to plaintiffs’ arguments, the challenged law is facially neutral as to race and national origin.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state legislature took on the Chinese Communist Party earlier this year when they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ron-desantis-takes-on-the-chinese-communist-party-by-signing-3-bills-into-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed SB 264</a>, which went into effect on July 1, severely restricting foreign entities or affiliates from buying farmland in Florida or land within 10 miles of military bases and critical infrastructure.
Lawmakers reportedly crafted the legislation to protect Florida from the rising “geo-political threat” of the Chinese government subverting national and state security. While Chinese nationals could face harsh criminal penalties, the law also puts less restrictive rules on immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria.
Almost immediately after DeSantis signed the law, the ACLU sued the state to strike down the legislation on behalf of four Chinese nationals living in Florida and the law firm Quinn Emanuel, arguing that it’s unconstitutional and violates equal protection rights and the Fair Housing Act.
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“In our view, which the U.S. Government has supported as an amicus, people from China should be no less welcome in Florida than they are elsewhere in the United States and free to participate in the housing market on equal footing with everyone else,” Derek Shaffer, a partner at Quinn Emanuel, said in a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-district-court-refuses-to-halt-floridas-discriminatory-housing-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>.
Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney at ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a news release that the civil rights group plans to appeal the decision.
“While today’s decision is disheartening, our clients will continue to fight for their rights to equality and fairness on appeal,” Gorski said. “Florida’s law legitimizes and expands housing discrimination, in violation of both the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act.”
The Biden administration also filed a “statement of interest” in support of the lawsuit, contending that the new law violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution.
“These unlawful provisions will cause serious harm to people simply because of their national origin, contravene federal civil rights laws, undermine constitutional rights, and will not advance the state’s purported goal of increasing public safety,” Justice Department attorneys <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.466023/gov.uscourts.flnd.466023.54.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Holds News Conference In Miami

Judge Denies ACLU Request To Block New Florida Chinese Land Ownership Law

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Ron DeSantis

The Biden administration&#8217;s climate czar <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=john+kerry+dailywire&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS998US998&amp;oq=john+kerry+dailywire&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60j69i64l3.2537j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kerry</a> can&#8217;t help but gush about China even as the Chinese Communist Party continues to embarrass him diplomatically while suggesting they don&#8217;t care one iota about Kerry&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/finally-congress-is-investigating-kerrys-chinese-communist-climate-change-chicanery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change chicanery</a>. The guy is a total CCP simp, and his comments after an international meeting between U.S.-CCP leaders this week prove it.
First, the term &#8220;simp&#8221; refers to guys &#8220;<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Simp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who do way too much</a>&#8221; for girls they have zero chance of dating. In turn, those women walk all over them and take advantage. It&#8217;s sort of new, online slang. Those caught &#8220;simping&#8221; are typically unaware of how pathetic they look. It is arguably worse than being friend-zoned. At least in the friend zone, the man is aware he is stuck.
You don&#8217;t want to be a simp, but that&#8217;s exactly what Kerry is to the CCP.
China has no interest in making any concrete commitment to climate change, let alone cutting back on carbon emissions. Nonetheless, Kerry continues the praise.
&#8220;We came to Beijing in order to unstick what has been stuck for almost a year, and that’s the in-person dialogue between the United States and China,&#8221; he beamed this week.
Kerry has been fighting for the chance to speak with the CCP face-to-face for nearly 365 days — and he&#8217;s absolutely giddy that it finally happened. He sounds like a teenager who is excited because the popular girl smiled in his direction after months of being ignored.
So how did the meeting go? Well, he came up empty-handed.
“We had very frank conversations, but we came here to break new ground, which we think is important at this stage, and it is clear that we are going to need a little more work to be able to complete that task, which we still believe, both of us, is doable,&#8221; Kerry <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/kerrys-visit-to-china-ends-with-no-major-agreements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bemoaned</a>.
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The former Massachusetts senator was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021. Since then, he has gallivanted around the world <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jetsetter-john-kerry-asks-worlds-poorest-to-cut-back-on-oil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bullying third-world countries into giving up fossil fuels</a>, down-played his family&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-kerry-fumes-over-private-jet-question-gets-checked-under-oath" target="_blank" rel="noopener">private jet usage</a>, and told countries that &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-davos-john-kerry-praises-select-group-of-people-for-saving-the-planet-but-says-they-need-money-money-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">money, money, money&#8230;</a>&#8221; is what will move climate change &#8220;progress&#8221; along.
However, all of what Kerry does is moot — if you actually believe that he wants to reduce pollution — if China is not on board with his plans.
Kerry has even been willing to ignore China&#8217;s troubling human rights record in hopes of scoring a carbon emissions deal with the country.
In the past, when Kerry has been asked about such issues, he has claimed that climate change takes the higher priority.
“Yes we have issues, a number of different issues, but first and foremost, this planet must be protected,” Kerry <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/john-kerry-justifies-climate-change-urgency-over-human-rights-abuses-in-china-life-full-of-tough-choices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> after being asked about the problem in September 2021.
In turn, China ramped up coal production, began ignoring Kerry’s emails, and, as noted, didn’t even have the courtesy to meet with him face-to-face. So far in 2023, China emitted nearly 12 gigatons of carbon. The next closest country is the U.S. — which has emitted roughly five gigatons of carbon based on the <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/co2-emissions-by-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest data</a>.
So what does CCP leader President Xi Jinping have to say about all of this? Well, after Kerry met with CCP leaders, Xi effectively told Kerry to kick rocks.
Xi did say that China would work to reduce C02 emissions. He <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/china/china-xi-carbon-climate-kerry-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, &#8220;the path, method, pace and intensity to achieve this goal should and must be determined by ourselves, and will never be influenced by others.&#8221;
Ouch. 
Kerry, it&#8217;s time for a message your buddy Biden should have told you: Xi&#8217;s just not that into you, dude.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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