Ex-GOP Foreign Affairs Chair Now Lobbying For China

Axios reports:

Former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Ed Royce, a Republican from California, has registered as a lobbyist for Chinese tech giant Tencent, which helps implement the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship and surveillance regime.

The catch: While in office, Royce was an outspoken critic of the Vietnamese Communist Party’s human rights abuses and backed several bills targeting China. The big picture: Royce is only the latest in a line of former elected officials to lobby on behalf of Chinese companies accused of being complicit in human rights abuses.

Driving the news: Tencent has retained several lobbying firms to help plead its cause in Washington amid the looming ban on WeChat, including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, where Royce works.

Former House Foreign Affairs committee chair Ed Royce is lobbying for Chinese tech giant Tencent https://t.co/tbAo8kH83n

— Zach Basu (@zacharybasu) September 15, 2020