Sen. Hawley: ‘Communist China’-Style Social Credit Scores Coming to US in Form of ‘Cancel Culture’

Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-Mo.), on Capitol Hill in Washington on Aug. 5, 2020. Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) warned that the Communist China-style social credit score system is being imported into the United States in the form of cancel culture.

“Everyone knows what a credit score is. But social credit scores are new. They’re the latest corporate import from Communist China, where government and big business monitor every citizen’s social views and statements,” Hawley wrote for the New York Post.

“And they’re the latest form of cancel culture in this country, as corporate monopolies and the left team up to shut down speech they don’t like and force their political agenda on America,” Hawley continued, adding that “those who still believe in free speech and the First Amendment” should “take a stand.”

In recent weeks, Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have come under fire for challenging the electoral results during the Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress. Some Democrats have claimed the two helped incite violence at the Capitol building, causing lawmakers and former Vice President Mike Pence to flee.

A publisher canceled Hawley’s forthcoming book, a campaign fundraising event was canceled by a hotel chain, and some called on him to resign.

“It will get worse,” Hawley added. “The tech titans have already booted dozens of conservatives off social media, and if they have their way, half the House Republican conference will be expelled from Congress. The corporate titans seem to believe that the only way to get a democracy to their liking is to eliminate all threats to the Democratic Party’s unified control of government.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-backed social credit system seeks to punish alleged transgressions such as supporting Falun Gong—the persecuted meditation group—Uyghurs, or Tibetans, criticizing the government, late payments, or more. Punishments can include bans on leaving China, using public transportation, checking into hotels, getting hired at certain jobs, or being placed on a public blacklist.

Hawley noted that conservatives are under even more duress as cancel culture intensifies.

“Your ‘conservative’ social platform isn’t worth much when Amazon can shut it down. Your vote may still be yours, but if your party is denied the means to effectively organize by corporate monopolies, it’s not going to win. Your church, well, you can still attend for now, but go to the wrong church and you may not have a job in a few years,” he wrote.

“I for one am not going to back down,” Hawley said. “My book will be published, and I will continue to represent the people of my state without fear or favor, whatever the left or the corporations say.”

Hawley argued that those who cherish the First Amendment should take a stand now.

“The powerful see in the present moment an opportunity to consolidate their control over society and to squelch dissent,” Hawley wrote. “That means those who believe in the First Amendment and the fundamental principles of American liberty must now take a stand, while we still can.”