U.S. lawmakers will travel to Hollywood and Silicon Valley this week to warn Disney ( DIS ) CEO Bob Iger, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other West Coast executives about their ties to China.
The delegation was led by Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House’s newly formed Select Committee on Economic and Security Competition with China. The committee was created to examine the growing influence of the Chinese government.
With the trip, the lawmakers hope to send a warning to major U.S. companies about their dependence on China and urge them to pay more attention to human rights issues. They also want to make clear that they want to work constructively with companies to push for change. A source close to the committee said lawmakers were “not happy with the status quo.
This follows a controversial hearing in Washington last month in which TikTok CEO Shou Chew was grilled by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing focused on whether TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteTok, could send data on U.S. users to the Chinese government, which could then use the data to spy on Americans.
Walt Disney Company Executive Chairman Bob Iger attends the world premiere of the movie “All the King’s Men” at Leicester Square in London, England December 6, 2021.
Disney’s Bob Iger is expected to meet with lawmakers on Wednesday. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
The delegation traveling to the West Coast this week is scheduled to hold a three-day meeting, starting with Iger on Wednesday afternoon. Gallagher is particularly worried after Disney remade the movie “Mulan” thanks to a Chinese government agency accused of extreme human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The province is home to detention camps for Uighur Muslims, where detainees are allegedly subjected to serious human rights violations, such as torture.
There will also be meetings with former film studio executives who want to share their experiences working with China, and discussions with venture capital firms and leaders from Alphabet’s Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) and Scale AI on the supply chain and China’s approach to China strategy emerging technologies.
The visit will culminate in a lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday. The discussion will focus on concerns about the tech giant’s reliance on China, including the risk of genocide and forced labor in its supply chain. Sources close to the committee say Apple needs to be more diverse
