Rubio Calls for Sanctions Against China's Tiandy Tech Company

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) has gone on record to support the Chinese people protesting the COVID restrictions in China. A vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Rubio has warned of the national security threat the country poses. Over the weekend, Rubio amplified warnings, calling for sanctions to be invoked on Tiandy, a Chinese Tech Company facilitating CCP and Iranian Repression.

Both Iran and China are facing historic protests, and lawmakers have extended their support. After a lengthy battle against Huawei, the company has been banned, and political pundits and lawmakers alike question whether Tik Tok will be next.

Now, the conversation has shifted to a company called Tiandy. According to a press release from Rubio, “Tiandy’s products are used by the Chinese Communist Party to track and torture Uyghur Muslims and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).” The release further states that reports indicate that “Tiandy sells the same technology to the Iranian regime, which may be using it to punish peaceful Iranian protestors.”

In response, Senator Rubio directed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, urging their respective departments to investigate if the company’s actions warrant U.S. sanctions.

In the letter, Rubio explains that the company’s “support of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance regime… allows Beijing to carry out systemic human rights abuses.” Moreover, “Tiandy has… reportedly exported its technology outside of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including to other authoritarian regimes.”

“In light of the company’s reported operations in both the XUAR and Iran, I request that you determine and report to the Congress whether Tiandy has engaged in conduct that may meet the criteria for designation pursuant to the authorities provided by Congress,” Rubio urged the Biden administration.

The full letter can be read here.