Tag: china

Biden’s Weaponized DOJ Crushed Texas Developer Who Blew Whistle on CCP Land Grab Scheme

In a saga that reads more like a political thriller than a real estate dispute, Texas businessman Timothy Barton is at the center of a high-stakes legal storm that some allege is less about justice and more about silencing dissent.

Timothy Barton—a Christian businessman, proud Trump supporter, and founder of the successful JMJ Development—has, in yet another glaring example of Biden-era political persecution, become the latest target of lawfare by a weaponized federal government more interested in shielding the Chinese Communist Party than protecting American citizens.

Barton’s “crime”? Sounding the alarm on what he believed to be a covert Chinese land acquisition scheme on U.S. soil.

Back in 2019, Barton was approached by a Chinese national named Haoqiang “Michael” Fu and his associate Steven Wall. They pitched him on partnering in high-value real estate developments across Texas. At first glance, it looked like a lucrative venture. But the deeper Barton got involved, the clearer the red flags became. Fu and Wall repeatedly failed to provide promised funding, while Barton was forced to keep the project afloat—personally.

Worse still, Barton discovered what he described as blatant financial fraud, including altered co-lender documents redirecting repayments straight to Fu. Convinced that the deal was a front for something far more dangerous—a CCP-backed scheme to influence and infiltrate American real estate — Barton did what any patriot would do: he reported the activity to Homeland Security.

But in Joe Biden’s America, doing the right thing gets you punished.

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Students uncover Chinese espionage at Stanford University

Students at Stanford University have allegedly uncovered a pattern of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempting to gain sensitive information about American research.

CCP agents reportedly impersonate students at the university to gain trust from students and staff and steal information as part of a “nontraditional collection effort,” while others are already connected with Chinese nationals studying in the U.S., according to The Stanford Review. The report states that several Chinese students studying at Stanford are currently acting as spies for the CCP.

Those affiliated with the CCP attempt to gain access to sensitive STEM research, particularly AI, as well as gather intel into U.S. research on China, the Review reported.

In one instance, a Chinese agent impersonated a student at the university and attempted to pressure a Stanford student, who was involved in “sensitive research on China,” into flying to Beijing, the Review found. The man advised the student to limit her trip to between 24 to 144 hours “to avoid visa scrutiny by authorities” and tried to keep communications solely on a CCP-monitored app.

After the student tipped off authorities, it was revealed the man had apparently been impersonating a Stanford student for years and had targeted multiple students, mainly women focused on China-related research, the Review said.

One “China expert” who spoke to the Stanford Review claimed that several of the university’s Chinese students are actively reporting information back to the CCP. More than 1,000 Chinese nationals study at Stanford.

“Many Chinese [nationals] have handlers; they [CCP] want to know everything that’s going on at Stanford,” one unnamed Chinese national attending Stanford told the Review. “This is a very normal thing. They just relay the information they have.”

In 2020, Stanford student researcher and Chinese national Chen Song was indicted for attempting to conceal her affiliation with the Chinese military. During her time in the U.S., the student allegedly sent multiple updates on her research in medical science to Chinese government officials.

Despite her crime carrying the penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, Song’s charges were dropped under the Biden administration over technicalities stemming from a visa application question.

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China Quietly Caves to Trump, Exempts Tariffs

The US and Chinese officials are currently continuing their tariff discussions, but China has already made concessions, either as a sign of good faith or as a tacit admission that the Trump administration has the communist nation in its sights.

According to the most recent sources, around one-quarter of all US imports to China have been surreptitiously spared from 125% tariffs, amounting to $40 billion in American-made items that will now reach Chinese customers without the exorbitant surtax.

The decision comes as Beijing seeks to cushion the damage to its economy from President Donald Trump’s across-the-board 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

Pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals are among the exempted products.

Trade specialists told Bloomberg that the policy shift by Chinese President Xi Jinping to match Washington’s moves was strategic rather than conciliatory; however, it is unclear if disarmament was initiated by the White House.

On Friday, Xi’s spokesperson said Chinese officials are “evaluating” the Trump administration’s latest offer, a key change in tone that might pave the way for protracted negotiations on a historic revision of the US-China trade gap.

“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” Reuters reported.

However, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce warned that it would not be forced into making a bad deal, adding, “attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work.”

On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that he believes Beijing officials are ready to make a deal after weeks of punishing tariffs that may soon cost China’s economy between five and 10 million jobs.

“I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process. First, we need to de-escalate. And then over time, we will start focusing on a larger trade deal,” Bessent said.

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Humanoid Robot Goes Full Skynet After “Imperfect Coding”

A Unitree Robotics H1 humanoid robot, developed and produced in Hangzhou, China, was seen exhibiting “erratic behavior” in a video circulating on X.

Footage circulating on X, shared by one user, alleged the incident was caused by “imperfect coding.”

“If you buy Chinese stuff, it might all end up like this… They might even deliberately make it this way to harm people...” the X user said.

Unitree’s H1 robot is listed for $90,000 on its website. A note underneath the price reads: “Not include customs duties. Please comply with local customs laws, pay customs duties, and clear the goods.” 

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Five Eyes now getting sensitive space intel – The Times

The US has begun sharing its “most sensitive” military intelligence on China’s and Russia’s space operations with the UK and other members of The Five Eyes (FVEY) global intelligence group, The Times has reported, citing a senior commander within the US Space Force.

Until this month, the work of Space Delta 9, a unit focused on America’s orbital warfare, was largely meant only for US officials with top-secret security clearance.

However, in a move that a Space Delta 9 spokesman described to The Times as “momentous,” British military chiefs have been allowed to observe operations at the unit’s base in Colorado.

The other Five Eyes members, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have also been allowed access to the highest levels of US space intelligence, the British daily reported on Wednesday.

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UC Berkeley Received Six-Figure Donations From CCP Officials, Records Show

The University of California, Berkeley, received donations from a blacklisted Chinese research university, Chinese Communist Party officials, and a Beijing state-owned chemical company, according to records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The news comes days after the Trump administration launched an investigation into UC Berkeley for allegedly failing to disclose funding from China, including a $220 million government investment in Berkeley’s joint research institution with Tsinghua University.

Donor records obtained through a California public information request provide new details on Berkeley’s financial relationship with China and foreign government-linked donors.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires that American universities disclose the names and locations of foreign donors to the federal government. For four years, the Biden administration failed to strictly enforce the law and withheld donor names from the American public. As the Free Beacon reported, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month requiring more thorough disclosures.

The Berkeley records demonstrate that the administration’s more aggressive approach to foreign higher education donations appears likely to reveal unsavory financial backers.

One of the university’s donors is the University of Science and Technology of China, which gave Berkeley $60,000 for its chemistry program in 2023. A year after the donation, the U.S. Department of Commerce added USTC to its sanctions list for “acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of advancing China’s quantum technology capabilities, which has serious ramifications for U.S. national security given the military applications of quantum technologies.”

Berkeley also received $336,000 for its “research units” in 2023 from Vincent Cheung Sai Sing, a longtime member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for Shanghai City, an advisory body to the Chinese Communist Party.

The GS Charity Foundation Limited, the charitable arm of the Glorious Sun Group, gave $160,000 to Berkeley for international studies research in 2023. The Glorious Sun Group’s chairman, Charles Yeung, was also a member of the CCP national people’s committee.

Duane Ziping Kuang, the founding managing partner of China-based venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners, gave $75,000 to Berkeley’s business school. His firm was an early investor in ByteDance.

Several universities have listed gifts from China-linked donors as coming from other countries, as the Free Beacon has previously reported. Berkeley reported numerous donations from PRC-associated individuals as originating elsewhere.

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China Deploys ‘Growing Army’ Of Pro-Beijing NGOs To UN To Target Critics: Report

The Chinese regime is increasingly sending groups that pose as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to the United Nations in an effort to suppress criticism of its human rights record, according to a report published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on April 28.

The 10-month investigation, a partnership between the ICIJ and 42 media organizations, examined China’s transnational repression under Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Part of the report focused on the communist regime’s subversion campaign against the U.N. Human Rights Council through “a growing army of Chinese NGOs.”

“Since Xi’s reelection as Communist Party general secretary in 2017 and president the following year, China has sought greater influence within the U.N. human rights system and become more aggressive in silencing dissent,” the report reads.

ICIJ found that the number of Chinese NGOs holding consultative status with the U.N. has nearly doubled since 2018.

NGOs can participate in U.N. meetings, make oral statements, and submit written statements before U.N. sessions after obtaining consultative status, which is granted by the U.N. Economic and Social Council.

An ICIJ analysis of 106 NGOs from China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan found that 59 are not independent but are “closely connected” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The ICIJ referred to these Beijing-backed NGOs as “GONGOs” or “government-organized nongovernmental organizations.”

Ten of these GONGOs receive more than 50 percent of their funding from Beijing, the ICIJ noted.

In at least 46 of these groups, directors, secretaries, vice presidents, or other high-ranking staff also hold positions in the Chinese regime’s departments or within the CCP.

Additionally, 53 of these NGOs pledge loyalty to the CCP on their websites or in other official documents. Among them, 12 agree to defer their decision-making to the Party, such as leadership appointments.

“In 2024, 33 Chinese NGOs showed up about 300 times on the lists of speakers at Human Rights Council sessions. There were only three of them in 2018. None criticized China,” the report reads.

Rana Siu Inboden, senior fellow at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin, was quoted in the report as saying that Beijing “is clearly using NGOs as a tool.”

“They are encouraging them, helping them, guiding them, coaching them through how to get this [consultative] status,” Inboden said. “And then once they’re [at the U.N.], you can see how their statements, whether it’s in the Human Rights Council or elsewhere, serve the government.”

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Harvard Quietly Trained Members of Chinese ‘Paramilitary Organization’—After the US Sanctioned It Over Uyghur Genocide

Harvard University quietly trained members of a Chinese “paramilitary organization” on two occasions after the U.S. government sanctioned the group for its role in the Uyghur genocide. The Ivy League institution could face “a big legal problem” as a result, according to one foreign policy expert.

In 2019, Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health partnered with Beijing’s National Health Security Administration (NHSA) to launch an annual health financing course, training government staffers from across China. Harvard originally noted in a blog post that officials with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) participated in the inaugural training, but that language was scrubbed following a Washington Free Beacon inquiry.

The Trump administration sanctioned the XPCC in 2020 “in connection with serious rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” describing it as a “paramilitary organization … that is subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party.” But Harvard continued to train its members, once in 2023 and again in 2024. On those occasions, the Ivy League university didn’t include their participation on its webpages.

China-focused research group Strategy Risks first uncovered the 2023 training in a recent report titled, “Beijing Exercises Strong Influence Over Multiple Areas of Harvard University.” XPCC officials’ 2024 involvement, noted on the NHSA’s website, has not been previously reported.

The revelation comes as Harvard faces mounting challenges, with the Trump administration freezing more than $2 billion in federal funding over the university’s failure to combat campus anti-Semitism. Since the sanctions restrict U.S. entities from engaging with the XPCC, Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Sobolik believes Harvard could face legal trouble, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

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How China Hijacks the International Human Rights System

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is using money, collaboration with authoritarian allies, and manipulation of rules to shift the international human rights system’s priorities and discussions to advance narratives and issues that are friendly to China.  For example, Beijing has secured the inclusion of independent experts in the United Nations Special Procedures system who work on issues that align with Beijing’s interests and is populating the U.N. with Government Organized NGOs (GONGOs) that act as mouthpieces for the Chinese government.  

In the past, the experts in the Special Procedures system and civil society organizations have played a crucial role in spotlighting China’s human rights abuses.  But now Beijing is utilizing them to promote issues and narratives that align with China’s interests.   

China and the U.N. Special Procedures

Among Beijing’s targets are the U.N. Special Procedures, which comprises roughly 60 independent experts who focus on a theme or country.  The Special Procedures have spoken out about the worsening repression in China, issuing over two dozen joint statements expressing alarm about the PRC’s crackdown on Hong Kong, human rights defenders, and ethnic groups, particularly the Uyghur community, with some of the statements attracting over 40 signatures.  

While the majority of Special Procedures focus on crucial human rights issues, such as torture or freedom of expression, and demonstrate integrity, China and other authoritarian countries have begun creating Special Procedures with mandates that favor their views, such as the Special Rapporteur on “Unilateral Coercive Measures,” a term intended to give sanctions a negative gloss, and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, to name a few.  

Even though sanctions have long been a human rights tool, including to resist apartheid in South Africa, China and other countries that have been the target of sanctions managed to secure passage of a 2014 Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution that created a Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures.  

Despite opposition from a number of liberal democracies, including the U.S., the resolution, which was introduced by Iran, created in the United Nations an independent expert to examine “the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures.” It passed following a contentious vote with support from nations such as China, Russia, and Venezuela. 

After securing the creation of this position, Beijing and other authoritarian countries have cooperated with the mandate holder and provided funding. For example, since 2015, Russia, China, and Qatar – which are categorized as “not free” by Freedom House – have donated $1,325,000 (with roughly $800,000 coming from China) to the mandate on unilateral coercive measures.  Although rapporteurs do not receive a salary from the U.N., states can use donations to a specific Special Procedure to help support the mandate holder’s work by funding travel, staff, and research assistance. Most Special Procedures receive only enough funding to cover two trips per year and one staff position to support the independent expert. Therefore, additional funding can elevate and amplify a particular Special Procedure mandate. 

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China: Fentanyl Is Not Our Problem

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun insisted on Friday that “fentanyl is the U.S.’s problem, not China’s.”

“The U.S. and the U.S. alone has the responsibility to solve it,” Guo said at a press briefing.

“Despite the goodwill China has shown, the U.S. slapped tariffs on Chinese imports and blames it on fentanyl. This is bullying through and through, and highly damaging to dialogue and cooperation on counter-narcotics,” he complained.

“The U.S. should know that vilifying others will not hide its failed responsibility, to punish those who try to help will not solve any problem, and intimidation or threats are certainly not the right way to engage with China,” he said.

Guo was responding to reports about slow progress in talks between U.S. and Chinese officials about curtailing China’s supply of precursor chemicals for the deadly fentanyl drug. U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday that the Chinese “are failing to negotiate in good faith.”

These officials said China is “exchanging intelligence about traffickers,” but its proposals to resolve the fentanyl crisis have been “inadequate.”

Also, while China might be willing to share intel about traffickers, it rarely takes serious action against illicit chemical manufacturers. This is partly because fentanyl precursor chemicals also have legitimate uses, and the Chinese government is reluctant to compromise the profits of their huge chemical companies.

“Start putting big, important people behind bars as a signal to the whole industry or black market. We just haven’t seen that,” one U.S. official said.

The Trump administration wants China to aggressively prosecute those who produce and sell fentanyl chemicals, while China is merely offering to regulate the chemicals a little more tightly. Even this offer seems largely rhetorical to U.S. negotiators, who said “talk is cheap,” but China never seems to do anything meaningful to shut down the chemical pipeline.

Trump’s first round of 20 percent tariffs on China in February was presented as punishment for China failing to take the fentanyl crisis seriously enough. China responded by saying it would do nothing further to “address the fentanyl problem” until the tariffs were lifted.

American officials noted that China is a member of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which unanimously agreed to place tighter controls on fentanyl chemicals at a March 2024 meeting in Vienna, Austria. China’s proposals to regulate more chemicals are, therefore, a “bad faith” offer to do something it already pledged to do over a year ago.

Pressed on the issue, Chinese officials have lately been repeating Guo’s talking point that fentanyl is entirely an American problem, even though no one disputes that most of the chemicals come from China.

The biggest change in fentanyl production since the first Trump term has been that China no longer ships the precursor chemicals directly to American drug dealers – instead, it ships the chemicals to Mexican cartels, who manufacture the fentanyl and smuggle it across the U.S. border. Fentanyl users and traffickers in the United States say there has been very little reduction in the supply of the drug since China promised to crack down on chemical producers.

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