The story gets worse. CATL is connected to the Chinese Communist Party’s “united front” propaganda and influence effort, which exists to get Chinese nationals, foreign governments and other actors to support the regime in China. Zeng Yuqun, the current chief and founder of CATL, was identified last year as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The conference coordinates Chinese interest groups and is led by the Politburo Standing Committee.
Unfortunately, Ford Motor Co. is not alone.
Congress has yet to ban TikTok, the most successful psychological operation ever launched against the United States. It is not complicated. India has managed to do it. Montana has managed to do it. Yet there are people arguing that the government — the same one that locked you in your house and made you wear a mask for two years, the same one that can ban stoves, cars and guns, and the same one that already bans things ranging from toys to drugs to cameras in a courtroom — can’t figure out a way to ban a software application.
Why not?
Jeff Yass is influential in Republican circles and dispenses his cash pretty freely for commendable issues such as school choice. He was also an early investor in TikTok. It is probably no coincidence that some on the right have decelerated the talk of banning TikTok. It is also unlikely that Mr. Yass — who by all accounts is a genuine believer in free minds and free markets in the United States — is alone among the billionaire class with respect to investing in China.
That’s the real problem. Whether you are Ford Motor Co., the union of operating engineers, or someone like Mr. Yass, the reality is that the cash from China is alluring and ultimately corrupting. To win our contest with China, we are going to need to appreciate that, understand its extent and devise ways to prevent it.
Approved – Obey
Article URL : https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/apr/19/chinese-communist-party-cash-ultimately-corrupts-b/