(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the recent arrest of a Chinese couple accused of smuggling a dangerous fungus into the country should be a wake-up call about the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party — and the danger TikTok poses. “I do think it’s time to ban the app,” Hinson says, “or make sure we’ve come up with a deal that protects Americans’ private information.” Congress passed a law last year to ban TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company, but President Trump has issued two executive orders to keep the ban from going into effect. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the Trump Administration should provide congress with an update on negotiations with potential U-S investors.

“I know they had been working on trying to secure a buyer for TikTok so that we could keep the app up and running in the United States and make sure that it’s an American run app,” Hinson says, “not a CCP propaganda and information spy-gathering app.” Hinson is a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. She says the Chinese are trying to exploit their access to America and that includes this week’s case in Michigan. A Chinese man is accused of trying to smuggle a fungus into the U-S that damages crops and sickens people and take it to the University of Michigan lab where he girlfriend, also a Chinese national, worked.

Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Marion) on the Iowa Press set. (Iowa PBS photo)

“I applaud President Trump and Secretary Rubio for wasting no time in revoking Chinese students’ visas with ties to the CCP or those who are studying in critical fields for Beijing’s benefit,” Hinson said. “We must ensure that no American institution enables China’s technical and miliary modernization ambitions, especially under the guise of academic exchange.” Hinson says this case is an attempt by China to undermine American agriculture and the global food supply. “The dangerous attempts we saw this week by these Chinese nationals should really serve as a wake up call here,” Hinson says. “…It is past time we hold the CCP fully accountable for undermining our safety and security and I am thankful for President Trump’s efforts holding the CCP’s feet to the fire this week.”

The Trump Administration has announced it will aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students to prevent the theft of U-S academic research and technology. The Institute for International Education estimates there were over 120-thousand graduate students from China enrolled at U-S universities last year.