Republican congressional candidate Lily Tang Williams, who immigrated to the United States from China, forcefully challenged gun control activist David Hogg during a debate at Dartmouth University on Wednesday.

Williams, seeking to represent New Hampshire's 2nd District, invoked her experiences growing up under Mao Zedong's Communist rule in China as she questioned Hogg about guarantees that the U.S. government would not become tyrannical.

"I am a Chinese immigrant who survived communism," Williams said. "Under Mao, 40 million people were starving to death after he sold the communism to them. And 20 million people died, murdered, during his cultural revolution."

A Chinese immigrant who survived communism, Lily Tang Williams, confronts David Hogg over his position on gun control.

"Can you guarantee me... that the government in the US, in DC, will never become a tyrannical government?"

David Hogg walked into it.pic.twitter.com/zKiIiBEPMT

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 12, 2024

She then pressed Hogg, "Can you guarantee me, a gun owner, tonight, our government in the U.S., in D.C., will never, never become a tyrannical government?"

Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and prominent advocate for stricter gun laws, acknowledged, "There's no way I can ever guarantee that any government will not be tyrannical."

"Well, then the debate on gun control is over because I will never give up my guns," Williams responded emphatically. "Never. Never. And you should go to China to see how gun control works for dictatorship of the CCP."

Thanks to @RealSpikeCohen for getting me a seat to watch his debate with @davidhogg111 at @dartmouth hosted by @theDPUnion. I love to see more open discussions & debates on our college campuses.

Even though I disagree with David, but we shook hands at the end respectfully. I… https://t.co/3B6o4hqizK

— Lily Tang Williams (@Lily4Liberty) April 11, 2024

The exchange quickly went viral on social media. Another Chinese immigrant, Xi Van Fleet, weighed in, writing to Hogg, "You need to learn some real history from survivors of communism."

After the debate, Williams said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, "I love to see more open discussions & debates on our college campuses. Even though I disagree with David, but we shook hands at the end respectfully. I urge him to do some research on Mao's Red Guards. I am hoping someday, he will get it."