Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley hammered an executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) at a Senate hearing on Tuesday for the organization’s alleged ties to Communist China.
Hawley pointed to the PGA’s 20-year agreement to host a series in China, and confronted Ron Price on the organization allegedly taking $45 million from a Chinese company to “conduct PGA Tour China.” Price denied the allegation.
“So you say this doesn’t exist anymore. When was this shut down?” Hawley asked.
“It hasn’t operated since 2019,” Price answered.
“Did you return the money?” the senator asked.
“We were not paid $45 million. I don’t recall the specific details of the agreement. We received a sanction fee, as I recall, for the series of the event and there was an operator in China that actually operated the events,” he said. (RELATED: PGA Tour And Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Agree To Merger)
“So you’re saying you don’t know anything about this?” Hawley pressed.
“No, sir, I’m saying it hasn’t operated since 2019 and I don’t recall the specifics of the agreement but I can certainly get those to you,” the PGA executive said.
Hawley read from a note that the PGA Tour struck a $45 million investment with a Chinese equity firm that allegedly has direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“Does that concern you?” Hawley asked. “It concerns me.”
“Senator, we’re not operating there anymore and I believe, I can get the details, that money went to an operator in China, not the PGA Tour,” he said.
“It was a deal between the PGA Tour and the Chinese company to do a series of events. You at least admit those events happened a few years ago, right?” he asked.
Price confirmed the series happened, and reiterated the PGA has no plans to hold any more events in Communist China.
The senator then asked if he will publicly condemn the internment of Uyghur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps. Price said the PGA supports human rights but will leave the matter to the government.
“When you say you leave the matter to the United States government, I’m just asking you, will speak out against the persecution and internment of Uyghurs in China? You’ve done business in China, you’ve conducted tour events in China, you’ve accepted money from Chinese entities in the form of a partnership. Do you condemn the concentration camps that are currently as we speak, are imprisoning Uyghur minorities in that nation?” the senator asked.
“Senator, we certainly do not condone or support that type of activity,” Price said.
An estimated 800,000 to two million Uyghur and other Muslims have been detained in China since 2017, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. and other nations have described China’s treatment of the group as genocide, and the United Nations human rights office has said the violations could constitute crimes against humanity.
Disney also came under fire for opening a $5.5 billion resort in Shanghai despite its human rights abuses. The same corporation has publicly condemned red states for its abortion laws and specifically the Florida Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.