Tag: china

REVEALED: Bank of America Not Only Targets and Debanks Conservatives But Also Has Deep Ties and Exposure with the Chinese Communist Party

The Gateway Pundit has uncovered alarming evidence of Bank of America’s extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Through its investments, board member connections, and collaborations with CCP-linked organizations, one of America’s largest banks appears to have placed profits above national security, raising serious questions about foreign influence.

Bank of America’s entanglement with the CCP dates back to 2005, when it invested $3 billion in China Construction Bank (CCB), the second-largest bank in China at the time.

This unprecedented investment, which marked the largest-ever foreign financial deal in China, signaled a willingness to align with CCP interests to gain access to the lucrative Chinese market.

While Bank of America sold its stake in 2013, it remains one of only eight U.S. banks permitted to locally incorporate in China, a privilege granted only with CCP approval.

The connections extend to Bank of America’s leadership. Maria Zuber and Lionel L. Nowell III, two board members, also serve on the board of Textron, an aviation company with deep operations in China.

Textron partnered with AVIC, a Chinese state-owned defense conglomerate sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for aiding the People’s Liberation Army.

Reports suggest that Textron’s aircraft designs were copied by Chinese companies, further underscoring the risks of such partnerships.

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Russia Has Offered Trump A Deal – Includes Oil And Access To Arctic – Moscow Could Scale Back With Beijing

In a potential bargaining move, the Kremlin may offer Trump that Moscow is willing to scale back its ties with China in exchange for concessions from Washington, reported The Moscow Times.

Russia believes that American oil companies may return to the country, and is also interested in joint projects with the United States in the Arctic, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said before the talks in Saudi Arabia, reported The Moscow Times.

According to Dmitriev, one of three delegates selected by Vladimir Putin to meet with the Americans in Riyadh, Moscow considers it important to resume economic cooperation with the United States.

Major oil companies from the United States had “very successful business ” in Russia, Dmitriev said: “We believe that at some point they will return, because why would they refuse the opportunity to access Russian natural resources that Russia gave them? ”

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Trump’s USDA Exploring Federal Solution to Ban China from Buying US Farmland

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Secretary Brooke Rollins, is considering federal action to prevent Chinese entities from purchasing American farmland after the Texas House failed to pass a state-level ban last session.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Rollins confirmed that the Trump administration is actively looking at ways to address the issue at the federal level.

“One of the very, very top of the list perhaps is the Chinese purchase of our farmland. A lot of that land is around some of our military outposts,” Rollins told Breitbart News. “So we’re in a really, really important conversation right now on how to push that back. With my experience in the states, I am a huge, huge believer in the laboratories of democracy—the 10th Amendment says our states are the guardians at the gate—and for the last several years my organization America First Policy Institute, we actually worked among multiple states to get states to act on this to pass state legislation but we also are looking at a federal solution too.”

The issue of Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has sparked growing concerns over national security, particularly in states like Texas, where large swaths of agricultural and rural land have been bought by Chinese companies and individuals. Senators in Texas passed a ban on such purchases in 2023, but the effort ultimately failed in the Texas House amid opposition from Democrat lawmakers and some Republicans.

A ban on hostile foreign land ownership has been named a priority by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for this session.

With Texas failing to act, federal intervention could reshape the debate entirely. Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, have been pushing for national legislation to address what they call a “serious national security risk.”

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We Are Closer To All-Out War In Europe, In Asia, And In The Middle East Than Most People Realize

We really are at one of the most pivotal moments in human history.  Decisions that are being made now will have very serious implications for every man, woman and child on the entire planet.  We have entered a time of “wars and rumors of wars”, and we have seen so much death and destruction over the past couple of years.  But now a new administration is in control in Washington and we have reached a fork in the road.  Will global leaders take advantage of this small window of opportunity to establish peace, or will they choose all-out war?

The good news is that for the first time in a long time, U.S. officials are talking with the Russians.  On Monday, Marco Rubio traveled to Saudi Arabia, and it is expected that he will be talking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about Ukraine while he is there…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was on his way to the country, amid expectations that peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine are about to begin.

This is a very positive development, but negotiations with the Russians will certainly not be easy.

For one thing, the Ukrainians and our European allies are demanding that the Russians make territorial concessions, and the Russians are completely ruling that out…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday ruled out territorial concessions to Ukraine, setting out a tough opening stance on the eve of talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s team in Saudi Arabia.

Trump said after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the two sides would begin talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The Russians are winning the war and having been steadily moving forward in recent months.

They see absolutely no need to give any territory that they have captured back.

The longer the Ukrainians wait to make a deal, the more territory they will lose.

The Russians have all the leverage, and they know it.

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The West Faces Uranium Shortage Amid Competition From China And Russia

American and European companies in the nuclear energy supply chain have become increasingly vulnerable to a possible supply shock in the uranium market amid fierce resource competition from China and Russia and the planned surge in nuclear power generation to meet electricity demand.

As many countries are now looking to nuclear power to cut emissions and reliance on imports of oil and gas, and meet the growing power demand from AI and data centers, they would need more uranium supply.

But China and Russia have moved to secure supply from African countries and are buying the key nuclear fuel from Kazakhstan, which is the biggest producer of uranium in the world and prefers to keep its sales diversified.

Not all in the nuclear power industry and the energy companies in the West have realized that competition for uranium supply is leading to a supply crunch, industry executives have told the Financial Times.

“We’re on a depletion curve that I don’t think many customers have realised,” Cory Kos, vice-president of investor relations at Cameco, the biggest western supplier based in Canada, told FT.

Amid plans for expansion of nuclear power generation in many countries, including in the United States, uranium demand is set to surge in the coming years and decades, while Western companies are seeing increased competition from China and Russia for supply.

“Russia and China are rapidly expanding their offtake of mined uranium from international partners, uranium enrichment capabilities, and nuclear infrastructure,” Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz with the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote in a report earlier this month.

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China Furious After State Dept Changes Line On ‘Taiwan Independence’

China is furious after a State Department fact sheet on Taiwan has been updated. The new updated version has dropped a line which previously stated “we do not support Taiwan independence.”

The State Department has downplayed it as a “routine” update to its online fact sheet on American relations with Taiwan. The change happened last week, but has now triggered a strong rebuke from Beijing, which fears Washington is changing its official long-running policy of not officially endorsing effots toward Taiwan political independence and sovereignty.

The fact sheet still displays a US commitment to ‘One China’ – but still the Chinese Foreign Ministry has on Monday called on the Trump administration to “immediately correct its mistakes” over the removal of the line.

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Hochul’s Former Aide Faces New Charges In Chinese Spy Case

Linda Sun, former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Sun’s husband, Chris Hu, are facing additional charges in a case that alleges they acted as agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Sun and Hu were arrested and charged in September 2024 in a case that is part of the Department of Justice’s broader effort to root out communist China’s secret agents, who U.S. officials say are covertly advancing the CCP’s interests and targeting Chinese dissidents on U.S. soil in an effort known as transnational repression.

On Feb. 11, Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors said, adding that the money laundering charge against the two had been amended to include additional legal statutes.

Hu also pleaded not guilty to three additional money laundering counts, according to prosecutors.

A superseding indictment filed on Feb. 4 didn’t provide more details other than saying that Hu’s charges were connected to three separate financial transactions totaling $1.5 million in 2020.

A spokesperson for federal prosecutors declined to comment beyond what was stated in the superseding indictment.

Jarrod Schaeffer, one of Sun’s attorneys, said the revised indictment also does not “remedy critical errors identified in the prior indictment.”

Sun and Hu remain free on bond and are scheduled to return to court on April 23.

Last year, Sun was charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification.

Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, worked for the New York state government under Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for about 15 years. During her political career, she held various posts, including deputy superintendent for intergovernmental affairs, chief diversity officer at the state’s Department of Financial Services, deputy chief diversity officer and director of Asian American Affairs for the state’s Executive Chamber, and director of external affairs for Global NY at Empire State Development.

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US Will Draw Down NATO Contribution, Focus On China – Europe Must Defend Itself, Rebuild Ukraine

“I’m here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States from being the primary guarantor of security in Europe.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaking to NATO ministers in Europe declared:

“I’m here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States from being the primary guarantor of security in Europe.

“Realities prevent the U.S. from being its security guarantor, and to expect a drawdown of U.S. forces in the region.

“We face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific.

“The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific. Recognizing the reality of scarcity and making the resourcing trade-offs to ensure deterrence does not fail. Deterrence cannot fail.

“European allies must lead from the front. United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security.”

President Trump, when asked if he saw Ukraine as an equal partner in the peace process?, said, “Ummm… interesting question. That was not a good war to go into.”

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Microbiologist, Residents Say China Conceals Extent Of Respiratory Virus Outbreak

Chinese health authorities have said this winter’s flu season is less severe than the year before, but medical experts cast doubts over the transparency of its respiratory illness situation.

Residents from four different cities have expressed concerns about an uptick in respiratory infections within their families and communities when speaking to The Epoch Times.

Some suspected their flu-like symptoms may actually be caused by COVID-19, fearing that doctors were instructed to avoid such diagnoses, given that the authorities declared a victory in its fight against the pandemic almost two years ago.

In Shenyang, northern China, a woman named Xu said she’s noticed more people sick with respiratory illnesses have seen local hospitals packed again during the Lunar New Year holiday.

“I’m feeling unwell myself and haven’t recovered. The hospital said I contracted influenza A, but I believe it’s just COVID-19,” Xu told The Epoch Times on Feb. 7. She expressed concerns about how quickly the virus circulated among humans this time, saying her son, daughter-in-law, and their school-aged daughter have all fallen ill. “The authorities are concealing the scale of the outbreak.”

Flu Toll Questioned

China’s top health body has acknowledged the country is grappling with a spike in respiratory infectious illness, but said the rate of influenza has shown signs of slowing down.

During the regime’s most recent briefing, National Health Commission (NHC) officials reiterated its previous assessment, saying the scale and intensity of the spread of respiratory infectious diseases this year is lower than it was during the previous winter season.

“No new infectious disease had been detected,” Mi Feng, NHC’s spokesperson, told reporters on Jan. 17, ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, attributing the current infections to a combination of known germs, most prominently influenza. No data was provided during the briefing.

It remains unclear how many people were infected with the influenza virus or COVID-19 this year. The latest figures showed 112 COVID-19 infections and seven deaths in December 2024, according to a monthly report from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Since December 2022, after a leaked recording of an internal NHC meeting indicated the COVID outbreaks were far worse than the official tallies indicated, the top health regulator stopped publishing daily COVID figures and transitioned COVID-related updates to its sub-department, CDC.

In a separate report, the CDC reported 1.5 million influenza cases last December, leading to seven deaths.

Medical experts have questioned the accuracy of these flu statistics.

“It’s clear that the mortality rate is being underreported,” Sean Lin, a virologist and former lab director at the viral disease branch of the U.S. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, told The Epoch Times.

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USAID Helped Dems Steal 2020 Election by Funding Wuhan Lab That Created COVID, the Ultimate Excuse for Illegal Election Tampering

As the U.S. Agency for International Development comes under scrutiny for what it’s been spending your money on — something it hasn’t been very forthcoming about before President Donald Trump’s administration made it one of the first targets of its Department of Government Efficiency downsizing initiative — the agency has come under fire for a whole lot of largesse that supported progressive, Democrat causes.

From the small but inexplicable ($32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru) to the larger and more problematic (funding a supposedly independent journalistic non-profit referenced by a CIA analyst whistleblower responsible for catalyzing the first Trump impeachment as a reason to suspect the president of wrongdoing), USAID has had its fingers in plenty of pies it shouldn’t have.

However, what if I told you that USAID played a part in the catastrophic pandemic that helped the Democrats dramatically (and illegally) overhaul election laws — and thus, it could be said, helped steal the 2020 election for Joe Biden?

I know, I know: I sound a bit like a slightly unbalanced Morpheus handing Neo the red pill. Breadcrumb it all back, however, and it begins to make a lot more sense than you’d think.

On Jan. 25, the Central Intelligence Agency announced that it believed the COVID-19 virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. While they asserted this with “low confidence,” according to The Wall Street Journal, it was a major shift for an agency that had long refused to take a position in the matter, particularly when most U.S. intelligence agencies favored a natural origin.

The CIA now believes, however, “that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting.”

This comes as a surprise to virtually no one with a functioning brain. The virus most closely related to SARS-CoV-2 was not found naturally near Wuhan, nor was any original host animal found, nor were any bats — the source of that family of coronaviruses — ever found being sold at the wet market supposedly responsible for the outbreak.

There was, meanwhile, an institute of virology hundreds of meters from where the outbreak began. There were numerous safety issues documented there and public evidence of a mishap there in October of 2019, around the time when scientists believe the virus would have begun to spread.

While this can’t be said to be dispositive for a lab leak, the balance of the evidence is pretty clear — and despite their best efforts, even the Chinese Communist Party can’t come up with a plausible theory regarding animal-to-human transfer five years in.

To make matters worse, the research being done at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was — despite Anthony Fauci’s verbal prestidigitations in denying it — so-called “gain of function” research, which is to say it took viruses (in this case, bat coronaviruses), and looked at ways they could become more transmissible or deadly.

This was done at a research facility where, again, security concerns existed going as far back as 2009. (No, I’m not missing a one somewhere in that number.)

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