U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley was dumbstruck when he grilled an Intel Corp. executive who could not seem to condemn China over forced labor practices.
The Missouri Republican made several efforts to clarify the issue as Intel’s Chief Trade Officer Jeffrey Rittener seemed to struggle to agree that “slave labor is wrong.”
This exchange took place on September 12, 2024, when four US technology company executives testified to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Hawley asked Rittener about his company’s investments in China and forced labor practices.
“So are you willing to say that what the Chinese authorities are doing to the Uyghurs is wrong?” Hawley asked after Rittener confirmed he knew Uyghurs.
“Senator I’m not, I am not in a position to to make that statement,” the tech exec repeated.
“You’re not in a position to condemn forced labor in China?” Hawley asked.
“I would condemn forced labor. I’m not an expert to be able to weigh in on whether China is engaging in such actions,” Rittener said.
“You have billions of dollars of investments in China. You are investing in Chinese artificial intelligence. You are investing in Chinese semiconductors you are making, who knows how much money in China. But you won’t say that the Uyghurs being exploited is wrong,” the senator snapped.
“What is wrong with you people? That’s not a rhetorical question,” he added. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”
“I personally, I believe that slave labor is wrong,” Rittener finally acknowledged.
“Oh, good. Well, I’m glad we’ve gotten that far,” the senator snarked before asking, “Why is your company associating itself with it?”
“I am not aware that my company is associated with it,” Rittener replied.
“I can’t, I cannot believe that we are sitting here having this conversation. I cannot believe that it is not easy for you,” Hawley shot back as the exchange continued.
The full exchange can be viewed in the YouTube video below:
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