April 19, 2022
Dear Friends and Family,
This will be the tenth segment on China – six in the original series commencing in June 2020, and four in the China Epilogues which started in March 2022. All can be accessed here.
Since this is the last segment on the China Epilogues, let me recap what I have learned about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
This Epilogue 4 reveals some examples as to the tactics they use to influence our political system via money, power, and potential blackmail, and interestingly how receptive some of our politicians and diplomats are to it.
Next: Next we move on to the Nihilism Epilogues which builds on the original Nihilism series that commenced in February 2021. Today much of the series concepts, content, and rhetoric is referred to as “Wokeness.”
Happy Learning,
Harley
Dear Friends and Family,
This will be the tenth segment on China – six in the original series commencing in June 2020, and four in the China Epilogues which started in March 2022. All can be accessed here.
Since this is the last segment on the China Epilogues, let me recap what I have learned about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
- The are extremely cunning and base most of their decisions on their long-term strategic plan with an endpoint of being the only world superpower by 2049.
- They hope to achieve world dominance via a “bloodless war” utilizing unrestricted warfare. But they will be prepared for armed hand-to-hand combat if necessary.
- Ther were highly successful in duping the Western world into believing they would adopt a democracy style governance model after achieving economic prosperity. It is now clear this is not the case.
- They capitalized on the U.S. naivete and greed in stealing our intellectual property and corralling multiple commodities and medicines thus achieving worldwide exclusivity. This has put us in a dependency position on many fronts.
- They have successfully infiltrated our colleges and universities, our industries and financial organizations, our political system, and even one of our professional sports. The full degree of such infiltration is unknown but as epilogues 3 and 4 reveal, it is fairly extensive.
- They are a formidable foe.
This Epilogue 4 reveals some examples as to the tactics they use to influence our political system via money, power, and potential blackmail, and interestingly how receptive some of our politicians and diplomats are to it.
Next: Next we move on to the Nihilism Epilogues which builds on the original Nihilism series that commenced in February 2021. Today much of the series concepts, content, and rhetoric is referred to as “Wokeness.”
Happy Learning,
Harley
CHINA EPILOGUES – EPILOGUE 4
CCP AND POLITICAL ELITES – EXCERPTS
NOTE: All excerpts are from Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win by Peter Schweizer (2022).
INTRODUCTION: This book will bring into focus what many of us have known, anecdotally, for decades: leading Americans have collaborated extensively with a brutal regime for personal gain. We will continue to consider the case, with new evidence of arguably the most powerful man in the world making excuses for Beijing while his family secured multiple deals with Beijing worth tens of millions of dollars. This, through the courtesy of individuals with direct ties to Chinese intelligence.
THE BIDEN FAMILY: New evidence makes clear that the Biden family received some $31 million from Chinese businessmen with very close ties to the highest levels of Chinese intelligence during and after Joe Biden’s tenure as vice president. Indeed, as of this writing, some of those relationships remain intact. These ties reach the highest levels of Chinese intelligence, including the former head of the Ministry of State Security, the head of foreign intelligence recruitment for Chinese intelligence, and a cluster of United Front organizations used for intelligence operations in the West (These United Front organizations are considered a “magic weapon” by Chinese officials in their struggle against the West).
The new sources of information also provide even more evidence that this is a story about not just Hunter Biden, but Joe Biden himself. Hunter Biden and Joe Biden has intertwined finances. Hunter Biden privately complained to family members about paying his father’s bills. He wrote to his daughter Naomi on January 3, 2019. “I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years. It’s really hard. But don’t worry unlike Pop I won’t make you give me half your salary.”
Doing business in China often entails having the right political contacts and relationships: having a powerful family name can be of enormous benefit. Joe Biden emerged as the point person on the Obama administration policy on China, so he would be a clear focus of Chinese attention. For Beijing, a commercial relationship with the Bidens would offer an opportunity for “elite capture.” Joe Biden has already painted a relatively favorable view of the Beijing regime in public statements.
The hazard of a Chinese businessman with close ties to the top ranks of Beijing’s spy agency conducting financial transactions with the son of the U.S. vice president cannot be overstated. How much did the Chinese participants make on these deals? Most likely they do not care. Chinese elites and Communist Party officials who were prospective partners or clients of Hunter were granted off-the-book meetings with Vice President Joe Biden. On November 5, 2011, Devon Archer forwarded an email from one of his business contacts hinting at a chance to gain “potentially outstanding new clients” by helping to arrange White House meetings for a group of Chinese executives and government officials. The group was the Chinese Entrepreneur Club (CEC) and included Chinese billionaires, CCP loyalists, and at least one “respected diplomat.” Meeting archives from the Obama-Biden administration show that on November 14, 2011, this Chinese delegation visited the White House and was afforded high-level access. According to White House visitor logs, there were approximately 30 members of the delegation.
Vice President Biden continued to emphasize that China was not a rival or threat to the United States and that a rising China was good for America. He said in May 2011, “a rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China but for America and the world writ large.” Meanwhile, Hunter was becoming involved in an increasing number of Chinese deals that served the national goals of Beijing in its competition with the U.S. He was now the U.S. representative for an intelligence and military linked Chinese company that was supporting voices calling for an aggressive military posture against the U.S. and its allies.
When Joe Biden hit the campaign trail for the presidency, after his family had received that $31 million from Chinese intelligence-linked businessmen, he continued to dismiss the challenges posed by China. “China’s going to eat our lunch. C’mon man,” he told a campaign rally in Iowa. He added, “They are not bad folks, folks.” But guess what? They are not competition for us.”
Beijing should certainly be happy with the overall posture of the Biden administration. The talk is tougher, but the main tenets of the foreign policy that Beijing wants Washington to pursue are secure: no radical reduction in the transfer of technology or capital, no fundamental challenges to the Chinese regime, and mild criticisms over human rights accompanied by excuses for their conduct. While the administration acknowledges that China is out to replace the U.S. as the world’s convening power, they also insist, per Tony Blinken, that “our purpose is not to contain China.” While Biden criticizes China on human rights, he also makes excuses. He explained on CNN that human rights abuses were about Xi trying to “unify” the country. Biden said, “Culturally there are different norms in each country, and their leaders are expected to follow.”
In sum, each deal the Bidens secured in China was via a businessman with deep ties at the highest levels of Chinese intelligence. And in each case, there appears to be little discernible business or professional service that was rendered in return for the money. With their cultivation of a close financial relationship with the Biden family, Beijing has climbed the mountaintop of influence in American politics. Being financially bonded to the First Family provides enormous opportunities for leverage.
CAPITOL HILL:
Diane Feinstein: Appointed mayor of San Francisco in 1978, future U.S. Senator Feinstein moved quickly to cultivate a closer relationship with China. At the emergence of the brutal Maoist era, Feinstein developed a “sister city” relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai. That initiative proved fruitful because the mayor of Shanghai then was Jiang Zemin, who would later be elevated to the General Secretary of the CCP and President of the People’s Republic of China.
Her husband, Richard Blum, had established a merchant banking and money management firm around 1975. As his wife moved San Francisco to embrace the Chinese regime, Blum began to reap the benefits of the relationship forged with Jiang Zemin. He became one of the earliest American investors in China and established a myriad of firms and partnerships that would do enormous amounts of business with China. As the Los Angeles Times put it, Feinstein’s friendship with Jian Zemin gave Blum, access to the normally impenetrable Beijing political system.
For her part, Feinstein insists that there was no connection between her political position and her husband’s deals in Beijing. Of course, she never discussed the fact that her husband had accompanied her during her official trips to Beijing. With controversy swirling, both Feinstein and her husband claimed that he divested himself of his mainland Chinese investments. But her financial disclosures show that was not true.
In 2005, Lenovo (a Chinese company) acquired IBM’s personal computer business. Lenovo plans triggered a federal government review of the transaction (Feinstein sat on the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time). In March 2005, the government approved the deal and within days Lenovo announced that it had received a $350 million investment from three U.S. private equity firms which included Blum’s Newbridge Capital.
With Feinstein as a member of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, an alleged Chinese spy emerged on her staff. While some news reports claimed that Russell Lowe was Feinstein’s driver, he was considerably more important than that. He worked for the senator for 20 years and was listed as an “office director” serving as a liaison with the Asian American community in California. Lowe attended several events at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and was reportedly recruited by the China’s Ministry of State Security.
Nancy Pelosi: During her early years in Congress, Pelosi was a vocal critic of China. But her positions have softened as her family has sought and received lucrative commercial opportunities in mainland China. Her husband and son started seeking and securing deals on mainland China. Husband Paul became a partner investor in Matthews International Capital Management, a pioneer in the Chinese investment market. In addition to Paul serving on the board, the Pelosi’s had a big chunk of money invested in Matthews. In 2010, the Pelosi’s had between $5 million and $25 million in a Matthews fund “specializing in Asian investment”. Paul Pelosi received partnership income between $100,000 and $1 million.
Beginning in 2020 and extending for more than a year, U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi blocked efforts by Congress to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus. With much of the evidence pointing to the possibility of a lab leak of the virus in Wuhan, Pelosi ordered the Democrats in Congress not to cooperate with any efforts to investigate the matter.
Mitch McConnell: In 1993, months after Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao, were married, the senator from Kentucky found himself in Beijing. He was traveling with his wife and new father-in-law, James Chao, and they had a series of private meetings with senior Chinese officials, including Chinese president Jiang Zemin who was a classmate of James Chao decades earlier. Elaine Chao, has served in the cabinets of two U.S. presidents –Bush and Trump.
The Chao family first started ordering ships from China in 1990. After that 1993 visit with Senator McConnell, their partnership blossomed. From 2001 to 2011, Foremost Marine, the Chao family shipping empire, received ten mammoth ships from Chinese state-controlled shipbuilders. When Elaine Chao became transportation secretary in the Trump administration in 2017, the relationship grew even more. As of July 2018, the Foremost Group signed a series of contracts with the Chinese State Shipbuilding Company (CSSC) to build ten more ships. In addition to building these ships, the CSSC was financing the construction. Furthermore, their vessels’ crews are almost exclusively Chinese. They transport large amounts of raw materials in and out of Chinese ports. Net, the Chinese government is building the Chaos’ ships, financing their construction, and providing crews and customers for the family. The Chao’s family business is interested in civilian not military shipping. But in China, the two are deeply intertwined.
John Boehner: During his tenure a Speaker of the House, John Boehner took positions and actions that were highly beneficial to Beijing. When Boehner retired from public office in 2015, he signed on as “a strategic advisor” to clients in the U.S. and abroad: at Squire Patton Boggs. (SPB) where Boehner now collects large fees. The firm continues to advise and help the Beijing government navigate issues that will threaten their interests.
The Beijing regime and its satellite entities have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to building a roster of former American politicians and officials now on their payroll as lobbyists or advisors. Indeed, at least 20 former senators or members of Congress have worked in recent years representing Chinese firms with ties to military or to intelligence services.
The Bush Family: In 1981, George H. W. Bush was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Within a year, his older brother, Prescott Bush Jr. made his first visit to China. Prescott, who worked in the insurance brokerage business started making deals in China. As George H. W. Bush continued his political climb, the deals continued to roll in for his brother.
With George W. Bush as president, Beijing officials were banking on his father influencing his views on China. Jiang Zemin, friends with both former President Bush and his brother Prescott, explained, “The father of President George W. Bush, Bush Sr. came over to China many, many times and had meeting with me in the seat you are now occupying,” he told one reporter. “We believe Bush Sr. will definitely push Bush Jr. to bring U.S.-relations to a new level.”
During the George Bush presidency, a new generation of Bushes began securing deals with Chinese officials. Neil Bush, brother of the president, signed a contract with a Chinese company called Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing. Bush had no background in computing, but the firm paid him $400,000 a year. Today, Neil remains firmly wedded to Chinese companies.
Jeb Bush, a very successful two-term governor of Florida, traveled to the Chinese province of Hainan in search of opportunities after he left office. In June 2013, Jeb set up something called Britton Hill Holdings, and brought in several partners with Wall Street experience. The relationship benefited Bush, but it also helped the politically linked HNA Group avoid public scrutiny. Jeb Bush was not done. His next investment fund was BH Global Aviation, which again found Chinese politically connected investors ready to participate.
The Bushes have seen Beijing ties redound to their benefit over decades, profiting multiple generations of family. George H. W. Bush was viewed in a favorable light by Beijing leader, a figure who took positions that were beneficial to China. His family members were rewarded with access to the highest levels of government as well as lucrative business deals.
The Trudeau Family: In Canada, perhaps the most prominent political dynasty in modern times are the Trudeaus. Pierre Trudeau was a flamboyant and passionate labor lawyer who went on the serve as prime minister of Canada for more than a decade. He was philosophically attracted to Communist China and would later cash in on the relationship he enjoyed with the Beijing ruling elite. The torch in the family would be passed to his sons, one of whom, Justin, would enter parliament in 2008 and later ascend to the prime minister’s office.
Pierre Trudeau had close ties in Beijing. But critical to his rise in national politics was his alliance with a powerful corporation, the Power Corporation, that wanted to do business with China. When Trudeau retired from politics, he went to work at Power Corporation, further nurturing those deals and becoming wealthy in the process. The legacy of these arrangements would provide a robust base of support when his son Justin would run for prime minister decades later. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves office, he will no doubt be looking for financial opportunities just as his father and so many other politicians have.
DIPLOMATS:
America assigns its diplomats to protect and expand American interests abroad. But all too often, when they leave government service, they end up serving the interests of foreign governments and entities in the host countries where they were paid to represent us. Their relationships with Chinese government officials give them the power to make money. That money grants the regime leverage over these former diplomats involved in deals. But speak too critically of Beijing and these officials risk losing their moneymaking opportunities.
Henry Kissinger: Henry Kissinger, the dean of American diplomats pioneered the idea of cashing in by using the relationships he had forged serving as America’s chief diplomat. In July 1982, he launched Kissinger Associates as an active business. China in the early 1980s was still off the beaten path for many Western corporations. There can be little doubt, though, that many corporate leaders saw the massive potential in a market of one billion people. The work of Kissinger Associates included opening doors for foreign clients, but his most important and lucrative role was cutting through government regulations in Beijing. To do business in China you needed government endorsement and approval. For Kissinger, this often involved making a few well-placed phone calls to friends in top government positions. Kissinger Associates has grown to include an array of other well-known and powerful members of the American political class. John Brennan, who served as CIA director during Barack Obama’s tenure, is a “senior advisor” at the firm.
Beyond Kissinger Associates, other senior American diplomats from secretaries of state to U.S. ambassadors have cashed in with a similar business model. They have all collected large fees because of their access to the highest reaches of government, while at the same time speaking as elder statesmen, allegedly offering objective advice on American foreign policy. It represents a troubling conflict of interest that clouds our national conversation about the China threat. Such diplomats include Alexander Haig, Madeleine Albright, and William Cohen.
CONCLUSION ON DIPLOMATS: America’s diplomats are hired and paid to look out for our national interests. They take an oath to do exactly so. But how effective can they be at their jobs if they are looking down the road and seeing fat fees by doing business deals in Beijing? The revolving door is a permanent fixture in Washington, D.C. Usually, it spins between the U.S. government and American businesses. Diplomats have globalized it – and far too often gone into business with our chief rival on the global stage. Beijing knows this, and through seduction and perhaps even cajoling, manages to put many of America’s national security and diplomatic figures on the payroll. Gathering favor with Beijing is not just profitable for former diplomats; it is also transferrable to other within political families.
FIGHTING BACK
American elites have sold the rope that will hang us to Beijing. That rope has many strands, but the end result is that these elites have helped strengthen and embolden a government that sees us as their rival – or even as their enemy. America has tried to address the problems of hostile foreign powers capturing the interests of the American elite. But the attempts have been feeble at best. Part of the problem is that many of the needed reforms have to be implemented by members of the establishment, including the very people who benefit financially from the reforms not being enacted.
Some clearly needed protections to hold America’s elites to account include 1). Ban lobbying on behalf of Chinese military and intelligence linked companies; 2). Ban Chinese military and intelligence linked companies from appearing on American stock exchanges; 3). Ban joint research by American universities, investors, and corporations with Chinese military and intelligence projects. 4). Journalists need to openly ask questions about links to China. 5). Media companies need to insist on truth and transparency when it comes to their experts -- Retired politicians, diplomats, and intelligence officials; 6). Wall Street firms need to consistently apply Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards to Chinese companies; 7). Use shareholder activism to hold corporate executives to account.
This book paints a grim portrait of the American elite. I am often accused of creating despair because I expose the corruption of America’s leaders but fail to highlight those who are doing some good. When it comes to China, there are some individuals in Washington, Silicon Valley and Wall Street who do take a superior approach to Beijing, are prepared to resist the temptations being offered, and are willing to confront the challenges we face. Let me offer some names. Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Joe Manchin, Peter Thiel, and Keith Krach.
Source: Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win by Peter Schweizer (2022)
NOTE: For specific details on the above click on the PDF attachment
The unabbreviated version of the above can be found in the pdf document below.
CCP AND POLITICAL ELITES – EXCERPTS
NOTE: All excerpts are from Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win by Peter Schweizer (2022).
INTRODUCTION: This book will bring into focus what many of us have known, anecdotally, for decades: leading Americans have collaborated extensively with a brutal regime for personal gain. We will continue to consider the case, with new evidence of arguably the most powerful man in the world making excuses for Beijing while his family secured multiple deals with Beijing worth tens of millions of dollars. This, through the courtesy of individuals with direct ties to Chinese intelligence.
THE BIDEN FAMILY: New evidence makes clear that the Biden family received some $31 million from Chinese businessmen with very close ties to the highest levels of Chinese intelligence during and after Joe Biden’s tenure as vice president. Indeed, as of this writing, some of those relationships remain intact. These ties reach the highest levels of Chinese intelligence, including the former head of the Ministry of State Security, the head of foreign intelligence recruitment for Chinese intelligence, and a cluster of United Front organizations used for intelligence operations in the West (These United Front organizations are considered a “magic weapon” by Chinese officials in their struggle against the West).
The new sources of information also provide even more evidence that this is a story about not just Hunter Biden, but Joe Biden himself. Hunter Biden and Joe Biden has intertwined finances. Hunter Biden privately complained to family members about paying his father’s bills. He wrote to his daughter Naomi on January 3, 2019. “I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years. It’s really hard. But don’t worry unlike Pop I won’t make you give me half your salary.”
Doing business in China often entails having the right political contacts and relationships: having a powerful family name can be of enormous benefit. Joe Biden emerged as the point person on the Obama administration policy on China, so he would be a clear focus of Chinese attention. For Beijing, a commercial relationship with the Bidens would offer an opportunity for “elite capture.” Joe Biden has already painted a relatively favorable view of the Beijing regime in public statements.
The hazard of a Chinese businessman with close ties to the top ranks of Beijing’s spy agency conducting financial transactions with the son of the U.S. vice president cannot be overstated. How much did the Chinese participants make on these deals? Most likely they do not care. Chinese elites and Communist Party officials who were prospective partners or clients of Hunter were granted off-the-book meetings with Vice President Joe Biden. On November 5, 2011, Devon Archer forwarded an email from one of his business contacts hinting at a chance to gain “potentially outstanding new clients” by helping to arrange White House meetings for a group of Chinese executives and government officials. The group was the Chinese Entrepreneur Club (CEC) and included Chinese billionaires, CCP loyalists, and at least one “respected diplomat.” Meeting archives from the Obama-Biden administration show that on November 14, 2011, this Chinese delegation visited the White House and was afforded high-level access. According to White House visitor logs, there were approximately 30 members of the delegation.
Vice President Biden continued to emphasize that China was not a rival or threat to the United States and that a rising China was good for America. He said in May 2011, “a rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China but for America and the world writ large.” Meanwhile, Hunter was becoming involved in an increasing number of Chinese deals that served the national goals of Beijing in its competition with the U.S. He was now the U.S. representative for an intelligence and military linked Chinese company that was supporting voices calling for an aggressive military posture against the U.S. and its allies.
When Joe Biden hit the campaign trail for the presidency, after his family had received that $31 million from Chinese intelligence-linked businessmen, he continued to dismiss the challenges posed by China. “China’s going to eat our lunch. C’mon man,” he told a campaign rally in Iowa. He added, “They are not bad folks, folks.” But guess what? They are not competition for us.”
Beijing should certainly be happy with the overall posture of the Biden administration. The talk is tougher, but the main tenets of the foreign policy that Beijing wants Washington to pursue are secure: no radical reduction in the transfer of technology or capital, no fundamental challenges to the Chinese regime, and mild criticisms over human rights accompanied by excuses for their conduct. While the administration acknowledges that China is out to replace the U.S. as the world’s convening power, they also insist, per Tony Blinken, that “our purpose is not to contain China.” While Biden criticizes China on human rights, he also makes excuses. He explained on CNN that human rights abuses were about Xi trying to “unify” the country. Biden said, “Culturally there are different norms in each country, and their leaders are expected to follow.”
In sum, each deal the Bidens secured in China was via a businessman with deep ties at the highest levels of Chinese intelligence. And in each case, there appears to be little discernible business or professional service that was rendered in return for the money. With their cultivation of a close financial relationship with the Biden family, Beijing has climbed the mountaintop of influence in American politics. Being financially bonded to the First Family provides enormous opportunities for leverage.
CAPITOL HILL:
Diane Feinstein: Appointed mayor of San Francisco in 1978, future U.S. Senator Feinstein moved quickly to cultivate a closer relationship with China. At the emergence of the brutal Maoist era, Feinstein developed a “sister city” relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai. That initiative proved fruitful because the mayor of Shanghai then was Jiang Zemin, who would later be elevated to the General Secretary of the CCP and President of the People’s Republic of China.
Her husband, Richard Blum, had established a merchant banking and money management firm around 1975. As his wife moved San Francisco to embrace the Chinese regime, Blum began to reap the benefits of the relationship forged with Jiang Zemin. He became one of the earliest American investors in China and established a myriad of firms and partnerships that would do enormous amounts of business with China. As the Los Angeles Times put it, Feinstein’s friendship with Jian Zemin gave Blum, access to the normally impenetrable Beijing political system.
For her part, Feinstein insists that there was no connection between her political position and her husband’s deals in Beijing. Of course, she never discussed the fact that her husband had accompanied her during her official trips to Beijing. With controversy swirling, both Feinstein and her husband claimed that he divested himself of his mainland Chinese investments. But her financial disclosures show that was not true.
In 2005, Lenovo (a Chinese company) acquired IBM’s personal computer business. Lenovo plans triggered a federal government review of the transaction (Feinstein sat on the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time). In March 2005, the government approved the deal and within days Lenovo announced that it had received a $350 million investment from three U.S. private equity firms which included Blum’s Newbridge Capital.
With Feinstein as a member of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, an alleged Chinese spy emerged on her staff. While some news reports claimed that Russell Lowe was Feinstein’s driver, he was considerably more important than that. He worked for the senator for 20 years and was listed as an “office director” serving as a liaison with the Asian American community in California. Lowe attended several events at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and was reportedly recruited by the China’s Ministry of State Security.
Nancy Pelosi: During her early years in Congress, Pelosi was a vocal critic of China. But her positions have softened as her family has sought and received lucrative commercial opportunities in mainland China. Her husband and son started seeking and securing deals on mainland China. Husband Paul became a partner investor in Matthews International Capital Management, a pioneer in the Chinese investment market. In addition to Paul serving on the board, the Pelosi’s had a big chunk of money invested in Matthews. In 2010, the Pelosi’s had between $5 million and $25 million in a Matthews fund “specializing in Asian investment”. Paul Pelosi received partnership income between $100,000 and $1 million.
Beginning in 2020 and extending for more than a year, U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi blocked efforts by Congress to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus. With much of the evidence pointing to the possibility of a lab leak of the virus in Wuhan, Pelosi ordered the Democrats in Congress not to cooperate with any efforts to investigate the matter.
Mitch McConnell: In 1993, months after Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao, were married, the senator from Kentucky found himself in Beijing. He was traveling with his wife and new father-in-law, James Chao, and they had a series of private meetings with senior Chinese officials, including Chinese president Jiang Zemin who was a classmate of James Chao decades earlier. Elaine Chao, has served in the cabinets of two U.S. presidents –Bush and Trump.
The Chao family first started ordering ships from China in 1990. After that 1993 visit with Senator McConnell, their partnership blossomed. From 2001 to 2011, Foremost Marine, the Chao family shipping empire, received ten mammoth ships from Chinese state-controlled shipbuilders. When Elaine Chao became transportation secretary in the Trump administration in 2017, the relationship grew even more. As of July 2018, the Foremost Group signed a series of contracts with the Chinese State Shipbuilding Company (CSSC) to build ten more ships. In addition to building these ships, the CSSC was financing the construction. Furthermore, their vessels’ crews are almost exclusively Chinese. They transport large amounts of raw materials in and out of Chinese ports. Net, the Chinese government is building the Chaos’ ships, financing their construction, and providing crews and customers for the family. The Chao’s family business is interested in civilian not military shipping. But in China, the two are deeply intertwined.
John Boehner: During his tenure a Speaker of the House, John Boehner took positions and actions that were highly beneficial to Beijing. When Boehner retired from public office in 2015, he signed on as “a strategic advisor” to clients in the U.S. and abroad: at Squire Patton Boggs. (SPB) where Boehner now collects large fees. The firm continues to advise and help the Beijing government navigate issues that will threaten their interests.
The Beijing regime and its satellite entities have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to building a roster of former American politicians and officials now on their payroll as lobbyists or advisors. Indeed, at least 20 former senators or members of Congress have worked in recent years representing Chinese firms with ties to military or to intelligence services.
The Bush Family: In 1981, George H. W. Bush was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Within a year, his older brother, Prescott Bush Jr. made his first visit to China. Prescott, who worked in the insurance brokerage business started making deals in China. As George H. W. Bush continued his political climb, the deals continued to roll in for his brother.
With George W. Bush as president, Beijing officials were banking on his father influencing his views on China. Jiang Zemin, friends with both former President Bush and his brother Prescott, explained, “The father of President George W. Bush, Bush Sr. came over to China many, many times and had meeting with me in the seat you are now occupying,” he told one reporter. “We believe Bush Sr. will definitely push Bush Jr. to bring U.S.-relations to a new level.”
During the George Bush presidency, a new generation of Bushes began securing deals with Chinese officials. Neil Bush, brother of the president, signed a contract with a Chinese company called Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing. Bush had no background in computing, but the firm paid him $400,000 a year. Today, Neil remains firmly wedded to Chinese companies.
Jeb Bush, a very successful two-term governor of Florida, traveled to the Chinese province of Hainan in search of opportunities after he left office. In June 2013, Jeb set up something called Britton Hill Holdings, and brought in several partners with Wall Street experience. The relationship benefited Bush, but it also helped the politically linked HNA Group avoid public scrutiny. Jeb Bush was not done. His next investment fund was BH Global Aviation, which again found Chinese politically connected investors ready to participate.
The Bushes have seen Beijing ties redound to their benefit over decades, profiting multiple generations of family. George H. W. Bush was viewed in a favorable light by Beijing leader, a figure who took positions that were beneficial to China. His family members were rewarded with access to the highest levels of government as well as lucrative business deals.
The Trudeau Family: In Canada, perhaps the most prominent political dynasty in modern times are the Trudeaus. Pierre Trudeau was a flamboyant and passionate labor lawyer who went on the serve as prime minister of Canada for more than a decade. He was philosophically attracted to Communist China and would later cash in on the relationship he enjoyed with the Beijing ruling elite. The torch in the family would be passed to his sons, one of whom, Justin, would enter parliament in 2008 and later ascend to the prime minister’s office.
Pierre Trudeau had close ties in Beijing. But critical to his rise in national politics was his alliance with a powerful corporation, the Power Corporation, that wanted to do business with China. When Trudeau retired from politics, he went to work at Power Corporation, further nurturing those deals and becoming wealthy in the process. The legacy of these arrangements would provide a robust base of support when his son Justin would run for prime minister decades later. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves office, he will no doubt be looking for financial opportunities just as his father and so many other politicians have.
DIPLOMATS:
America assigns its diplomats to protect and expand American interests abroad. But all too often, when they leave government service, they end up serving the interests of foreign governments and entities in the host countries where they were paid to represent us. Their relationships with Chinese government officials give them the power to make money. That money grants the regime leverage over these former diplomats involved in deals. But speak too critically of Beijing and these officials risk losing their moneymaking opportunities.
Henry Kissinger: Henry Kissinger, the dean of American diplomats pioneered the idea of cashing in by using the relationships he had forged serving as America’s chief diplomat. In July 1982, he launched Kissinger Associates as an active business. China in the early 1980s was still off the beaten path for many Western corporations. There can be little doubt, though, that many corporate leaders saw the massive potential in a market of one billion people. The work of Kissinger Associates included opening doors for foreign clients, but his most important and lucrative role was cutting through government regulations in Beijing. To do business in China you needed government endorsement and approval. For Kissinger, this often involved making a few well-placed phone calls to friends in top government positions. Kissinger Associates has grown to include an array of other well-known and powerful members of the American political class. John Brennan, who served as CIA director during Barack Obama’s tenure, is a “senior advisor” at the firm.
Beyond Kissinger Associates, other senior American diplomats from secretaries of state to U.S. ambassadors have cashed in with a similar business model. They have all collected large fees because of their access to the highest reaches of government, while at the same time speaking as elder statesmen, allegedly offering objective advice on American foreign policy. It represents a troubling conflict of interest that clouds our national conversation about the China threat. Such diplomats include Alexander Haig, Madeleine Albright, and William Cohen.
CONCLUSION ON DIPLOMATS: America’s diplomats are hired and paid to look out for our national interests. They take an oath to do exactly so. But how effective can they be at their jobs if they are looking down the road and seeing fat fees by doing business deals in Beijing? The revolving door is a permanent fixture in Washington, D.C. Usually, it spins between the U.S. government and American businesses. Diplomats have globalized it – and far too often gone into business with our chief rival on the global stage. Beijing knows this, and through seduction and perhaps even cajoling, manages to put many of America’s national security and diplomatic figures on the payroll. Gathering favor with Beijing is not just profitable for former diplomats; it is also transferrable to other within political families.
FIGHTING BACK
American elites have sold the rope that will hang us to Beijing. That rope has many strands, but the end result is that these elites have helped strengthen and embolden a government that sees us as their rival – or even as their enemy. America has tried to address the problems of hostile foreign powers capturing the interests of the American elite. But the attempts have been feeble at best. Part of the problem is that many of the needed reforms have to be implemented by members of the establishment, including the very people who benefit financially from the reforms not being enacted.
Some clearly needed protections to hold America’s elites to account include 1). Ban lobbying on behalf of Chinese military and intelligence linked companies; 2). Ban Chinese military and intelligence linked companies from appearing on American stock exchanges; 3). Ban joint research by American universities, investors, and corporations with Chinese military and intelligence projects. 4). Journalists need to openly ask questions about links to China. 5). Media companies need to insist on truth and transparency when it comes to their experts -- Retired politicians, diplomats, and intelligence officials; 6). Wall Street firms need to consistently apply Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards to Chinese companies; 7). Use shareholder activism to hold corporate executives to account.
This book paints a grim portrait of the American elite. I am often accused of creating despair because I expose the corruption of America’s leaders but fail to highlight those who are doing some good. When it comes to China, there are some individuals in Washington, Silicon Valley and Wall Street who do take a superior approach to Beijing, are prepared to resist the temptations being offered, and are willing to confront the challenges we face. Let me offer some names. Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Joe Manchin, Peter Thiel, and Keith Krach.
Source: Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win by Peter Schweizer (2022)
NOTE: For specific details on the above click on the PDF attachment
The unabbreviated version of the above can be found in the pdf document below.
| china_e4l_politicians.pdf |