US Senator Calls Hikvision and Dahua “Puppets of the Chinese Communist Party”, Urges Sanctions

Avatar
Charles Rollet
•Published Feb 07, 2019 14:40 PM

Tom Cotton, Republican senator from Arkansas, has publicly called Hikvision and Dahua “puppets of the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army” and urged the US government to sanction them for their extensive involvement in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.

This video below shows the remarks:

IPVM Image

Cotton’s speech comes only about a week after 3 British MPs called for Parliament to investigate Hikvision over its Xinjiang ties. Cotton went significantly further, directly urging sanctions that would “deny [Hikvision and Dahua] access to Western markets”.

The remarks add pressure on the firms over their Xinjiang activities, a topic neither has ever publicly addressed despite winning over $1 billion in state surveillance projects there. International outcry over Xinjiang is rising as news trickles out of the Chinese government’s detention of up to one million civilians in ‘re-education’ camps and intrusive surveillance methods.

In this note, we examine the remarks and what the broader implications are for Hikvision and Dahua, including:

  • Speech Details
  • Other Relevant Remarks
  • Cotton Calls China "Evil Empire"
  • Impact On Hikvision and Dahua

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Comments (11)
JH
John Honovich
•Feb 07, 2019
IPVM

Charles, good reporting!

A few thoughts:

  • Hikvision is now clearly the most famous video surveillance company in the world. Obviously, not in a good way but the media and political attention they are drawing around the world (the UK MPs last week, France and Australia recently, etc.) is unprecedented for the video surveillance industry.
  • When this attention started to grow a few years ago, many Hikvision proponents on IPVM argued that this was good for Hikvision (a variant of "All publicity is good publicity" theme). In fairness to them, they have stopped such claims since it is know obvious that this is not good publicity. The Deng Xiaoping maxim of "hide your strength and bide your time" clearly worked better for the PRC.
  • Understandably, Dahua and Hikvision overseas employees are going to object at the 'puppet' characterization. Truly, for them, they are just trying to sell cameras and make their quarterly numbers. The puppet concern is clearly more about what goes into the products and who is allowed to access them. That's where the China Communist Party concern comes from.
(4)
U
Undisclosed #1
•Feb 07, 2019

Good report, hopefully Senator Cotton will not call for your prosecution on this, it seems mostly supportive.

 

(1)
(1)
(1)
(4)
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
•Feb 07, 2019

Lots of puppets in the news lately....

(3)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
•Feb 07, 2019
In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #2

Not a puppet... not a puppet.  You’re a puppet.

(6)
Avatar
Luca Fogliati
•Feb 09, 2019

Going a bit out of topic (and going for sure to get a lot of disagreement)isn't it just worrying the way  today's politicians speack not in terms of contencts but in terms of form?...and i am not just talking about America but that's all the world's politicians, at least most (same problem here in Italy)...i mean ,regardless of what the truth is, those are two of the biggest companies in cctv in the world you cannot just use such terms like puppies when you refer to them...you could say there are concerns about the companies,about security or whatever may be the truth or your opinion or the analitics data you have.but going so basic and rude in your language, publicly ,just to gain the favor of electors who can't understand other but basic concepts and the Terminator attitude...i mean politicians should have an etiquette when they speack...cannot use this language...that's the language of warfare...it's the pre www2 language used by people like Mussolini or Hitler...you cannot use it just like it's normal,everyday,every situation..isn't it just time to get scared?or is it just me?

U
Undisclosed #4
•Feb 09, 2019
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Luca Fogliati

...those are two of the biggest companies in cctv in the world you cannot just use such terms like puppies when you refer to them...

why not, if it walks like a puppy and talks like a puppy...

(1)
JH
John Honovich
•Feb 10, 2019
IPVM
In reply to Luca Fogliati

you cannot just use such terms like puppies when you refer to them...you could say there are concerns about the companies

I do agree that the term 'puppet' is not appropriate as well as being inflammatory. There are certainly reasonable concerns about influence, control, and ownership but the use of 'puppet', a la Pinocchio or the Muppets, is wrong and divisive.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #5
•Feb 10, 2019
In reply to Luca Fogliati

U
Undisclosed #4
•Feb 10, 2019
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Undisclosed #5

puffery, not puppetry?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #6
•Feb 11, 2019

That's a strange turn of opinion from this man.....

Senator Cotton said the only problem he has with Guantanamo Bay prison is that “there are too many empty beds.” Ignoring waterboarding, indefinite detention, forced feeding and other torturous acts, Tom Cotton insists that the US should be "proud" of how it treats the "savages" detained in Gitmo. As far as Cotton is concerned, "[the prisoners] can rot in hell. But as long as they don’t do that, then they can rot in Guantanamo Bay." This is counter to the position of many other Senators and President Obama, who has promised time and time again to close the prison. There are still dozens of men held at Gitmo who has been cleared for release, but that doesn’t seem to bother Senator They-Can-Rot-in-Hell.

 

JH
John Honovich
•May 23, 2019
IPVM

The same US Senator Cotton has now called for Hikvision to get the 'Huawei treatment':