Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, said there is a consensus among Americans that Chinese companies should not be allowed to buy and control American resources, including farmland.
Read the full storyTag: CCP
Major Liberal Charities Funneling Millions into Arms of Chinese Government, Documents Show
Three major American charities collectively poured more than $10 million into Chinese government entities, universities and groups controlled by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) between 2017 and 2022, tax documents show.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation together donated about $10.2 million directly to the Chinese government and to organizations headed by top-ranking CCP members, according to tax disclosures. Chinese beneficiaries of the American philanthropies include state-run universities that collaborate with the People’s Liberation Army, as well as government ministries.
Read the full storySenator Marsha Blackburn Slams TikTok’s Move to Nashville
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a statement on Wednesday slamming a new report detailing the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok’s interest in permanently moving its Nashville operations into a new office building in Music Row.
Read the full storyExperts Raise Concerns over History of CIA Director Overseeing Intel Push into China
National security experts are raising concerns over CIA Director William Burns’ previous involvement with a D.C. institution that employed numerous Chinese Communist Party members, in light of his efforts to reorient the agency toward addressing the threat from China.
Recent reports have shed light on the historic shift underway at the U.S.’ most expansive intelligence directorate to rebuild a network of human spies in China, and outpace Beijing’s adaptation to a rapidly changing technological environment. However, Burns previously headed a think tank that hired people and groups professing membership to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a fact that experts say raises red flags about Burns’ credibility.
Read the full storyTikTok Data Reveals Content Favors CCP Goals, According to New Study
The popular video app TikTok seems to be promoting content to align with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) goals, a Thursday study found.
Hashtag data showed that content sensitive to the CCP is far less popular on TikTok than on its rival, Instagram, accordingto the study by Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University. A comparison between Instagram and TikTok showed that the number of posts about non-sensitive hashtags in the realm of politics and pop-culture was fairly similar based on how many users each platform has, but the number of posts on hashtags for topics sensitive to the CCP was substantially higher on Instagram than on TikTok.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Introduces the Iran China Accountability Act
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led seven of her Republican colleagues this week in introducing the Iran China Accountability Act, which would place certain conditions and limitations on any nuclear deals relating to Iran.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Rep. Mark Green Reintroduces Bill That Would Require Annual Reporting on Federal Funds Spent in China
Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would require annual reporting on federal funds spent in China.
Read the full storyHouse Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green Previews Upcoming Hearing Examining Global Threats to U.S. Security
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-07) recently announced a full Committee hearing examining “global threats to the U.S. homeland and our security interests abroad.”
Read the full storyCCP-Linked TikTok’s Personnel Can Allegedly Access Politicians’ Private Networks: Report
TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance’s personnel can allegedly view the private connections of a vast array of politicians, Forbes reported on Wednesday.
TikTok has a social graph tool that reveals connections of individuals including members of President Joe Biden’s family, governors, senators and state attorneys general, Forbes reported. Other social media companies have access to similar data but TikTok has fewer barriers for employees to view it and more personal information available for them to draw from, according to individuals who have worked for multiple tech firms who spoke to Forbes.
Read the full storyDeSantis Suspends Florida School Choice Scholarships to Schools with ‘Ties to the Chinese Communist Party’
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced that four schools will no longer receive school choice scholarships after an investigation from the state education department found the schools allegedly had “direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
DeSantis’ announcement Friday targets the Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, located west of Fort Lauderdale, and the Parke House Academy and Park Maitland School, both of which are located in Winter Park, a northern suburb of Orlando.
Read the full storyHouse Select Committee on China Demands FBI and DOD Briefing on Communist China Spies Infiltrating U.S. Military Bases
U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI-o8), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, wants a briefing from top Biden administration officials on increasing incidents of CCP spies accessing sensitive military, economic, and technological secrets on U.S. soil.
Gallagher joined fellow committee member U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02) on Wednesday in calling on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and FBI Director Christopher Wray to explain to the committee why there’s been a surge in CCP espionage, and what they plan to do about it.
Read the full storyChinese Parent Behind Company Building Michigan Battery Plants Employs 923 CCP Members
The Chinese parent company of Gotion Inc., which intends to build two electric battery plants in Michigan, employs 923 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, including its CEO, according to its 2022 ESG report.
The Fremont, California-based Gotion Inc. — which is “wholly owned and controlled” by Gotion High-Tech Power Energy Co., according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing — seeks to “invest $2.4 billion to construct two 550,000-square-foot production plants” for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Big Rapids, Michigan, Fox News reported.
Read the full storyCompany Behind Michigan Electric Vehicle Battery Plant Registered as Chinese Foreign Organization
The company responsible for a controversial electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan is registered under U.S. law as a foreign entity, filings show.
While the energy company Gotion, Inc. is based out of Fremont, Calif., Foreign Agents Registration Act documents filed by the corporation earlier this year show that it “is wholly owned and controlled” by Gotion High-Tech, which is based out of Hefei, a city in eastern China.
Read the full storyTennessee Rep. Mark Green’s SCREEN Act Passes Through Committee
Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced the passage of his Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now Act (SCREEN Act) in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.
Read the full storyCommentary: Hong Kong – at China’s Direction – Offers $1 Million Bounties for Dissidents Abroad
The government of Hong Kong is offering a bounty of up to $1 million to anyone who can help find eight activists who fled to other countries and continue to fight against its authoritarian government.
I am not one of the eight, but all of us who fight for democracy in Hong Kong are in danger from a Chinese government that is chasing us for showing that it has broken its promises to keep Hong Kong a vibrant and free city-state.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Updates from Inside the ‘Raucous Chamber’: ‘What’s the Pathway to Peace’ in Ukraine?
Tennessee U.S. Rep Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on the newsmaker line Friday for a broad-ranging interview covering everything from FBI Director Chris Wray’s “tap dancing” to the prospects of our Tennessee Army reservists being sent to the Ukraine.
Read the full storyGOP Senators Urge FBI, DOJ to Investigate Chinese Intel-Linked ‘Service Centers’ in U.S. Cities
Eight Republican senators urged the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday to immediately investigate a network of Chinese Communist Party-linked “service centers” operating in several U.S. cities.
A CCP “intelligence service” called the United Front Work Department (UFWD) runs so-called “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” (OCSCs) from within at least seven U.S. nonprofits, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation recently revealed. Launched between 2014 and 2017, the U.S. OCSCs are located in San Francisco, California; St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to Chinese state-media reports.
Read the full storyFlorida Restricts Chinese Communist Party’s Influence on College Campuses
Florida public universities will have a harder time accepting grants or working with the People’s Republic of China and other “countries of concern” due to a recently enacted law.
Senate Bill 846, which became effective on July 1, prohibits “state universities and state colleges from accepting grants from or participating in partnerships or agreements with a college or university based in a foreign country of concern or with a foreign principal unless specified conditions are met,” according to the legislative summary.
Read the full storyTikTok’s CCP-Linked Parent Company Is Trying to Break into a Whole New Industry
ByteDance, the CCP-linked parent company of popular shortform video platform TikTok, is trying to enter the book publishing industry, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The company filed in late April for a U.S. trademark for a publishing firm, 8th Note Press, and has already begun reaching out to some independent authors for the rights to sell their books, the NYT reported. TikTok has helped some books become bestsellers in the past several years, posts using the #Booktok hashtag have been viewed more than 91 billion times and the combined sales of 100 authors with large BookTok followings eclipsed $760 million in 2022, a 60% surge from the year prior.
Read the full storyTennessee Representative Applauds New Department of Defense Rule Regarding Hollywood Film Censorship
Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) applauded the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) after it announced it will no longer work with film studios that censor their movies on behalf of the Communist China Party (CCP).
Read the full storyMichigan Woman Leads Effort to Recall Officials Who Approved EV Battery Factory with China Ties
A Michigan woman is leading an effort to try to oust elected officials in her township for allowing the maker of electric vehicle batteries with ties to China to open a plant in her township.
The headquarters for battery maker Gotion Inc. is in California, but its parent company, Gotion High-tech, is based in China, which is raising concern about its connections to the Chinese Communist Party and national security.
Read the full storyLiberal-Led LinkedIn Censors Rising Republican Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy
Lefty-led LinkedIn is censoring anti-woke crusader Vivek Ramaswamy’s account, the GOP presidential candidate says.
The Ohio entrepreneur and political outsider fired off a tweet Thursday morning declaring, “Big Tech election interference has begun.”
Read the full storyWisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher and His Committee Want Answers from TikTok on Popular App’s Latest Controversial Activities
It seems TikTok just can’t quit its creeping ways.
U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08), chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, is seeking answers from the controversial video hosting site on allegations of ongoing censorship and monitoring of individuals, including those who view LGBTQ-related content on the platform.
Read the full storyDeSantis Signs Bill Blocking Chinese Property Ownership Near Military Installations
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a bill that would block Chinese ownership of agricultural land and property near military installations, the latest state to crack down on Communist Party control of U.S. sites.
The law prohibits anyone from China and other totalitarian regimes, including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, from having a stake in any property within 10 miles of Department of Defense installations or critical infrastructure. A separate bill, also signed into law Monday, creates additional hurdles for foreign ownership of private schools after federal lawmakers raised red flags over Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ties to a private Florida high school operating a military pre-enlistment program.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Long Road to Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Two
Falun Gong emerged in China in 1992, a time of a spiritual renewal in a land still under Communist rule, but one recovering from the horrors of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. Drawing on Buddhist traditions, Falun Gong combined meditation and tai chi-style exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of “zhen,” “shan,” and “ren” (truth, compassion, tolerance.) The word, in both English and Chinese, to describe this contemplative mind and body approach to life is qigong.
Read the full storyCommentary: Stop The CCP From Stealing Your Data
The Chinese Communist Party is invading America and Democrats are welcoming them in with open arms.
We see it every day now. From buying up American farmland to the Chinese spy balloon – which we now have confirmed without a shadow of a doubt was spying on our sensitive military sites – China is attempting every angle to invade our nation and that includes stealing Americans’ data.
Read the full storyTennessee Senator Blackburn Introduces Sister City Transparency Act
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week reintroduced the Sister City Transparency Act, a bill aimed toward addressing geostrategic scheming, particularly by China.
“Sister cities” are municipalities that enter into diplomatic relationships with localities abroad to facilitate cultural and economic exchange. But, the senator told The Tennessee Star, China is using these arrangements to advance propaganda and exert political pressure.
Read the full storyCommentary: Senator Marsha Blackburn is Doing What Other Lawmakers Aren’t
Initially, many of us welcomed the advent of companies like Facebook and Twitter. They helped us reach out to people we hadn’t spoken to in years and served as a way to get our news every day. But, as time went on, Big Tech has become a menace to the American people. For years, they have been stealing peoples’ data and selling users’ information online.
Read the full storyGordon Chang Commentary: It’s Time to Bankrupt China
“We are probably not going to be able to do anything to stop, slow down, disrupt, interdict, or destroy the Chinese nuclear development program that they have projected out over the next 10 to 20 years,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley on March 29 at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. “They’re going to do that in accordance with their own plan.”
Milley is wrong about China’s nuclear weapons ambitions. He is, unfortunately, expressing the same pessimism that pervaded the Nixon, Ford and Carter years, when the American foreign policy establishment took the Soviet Union as a given and therefore promoted détente.
Read the full storyCrom Carmichael: Biden Administration Subsidies and Mandates to Force Greater Adoption of Electric Vehicles Have Unintended Consequences
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss the massive subsidies afforded to electric vehicle companies and the consequences of the crippling speed to make the switch from fuel-powered vehicles.
Read the full storyGeorgia Legislature Signs Off on Bill to Ban TikTok
Georgia lawmakers have sent a measure to bar TikTok and other “national security software threats” on state-owned devices.
Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously signed off on Senate Bill 93, which they say would also bar Telegram and WeChat, and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. It would also prohibit these applications on state devices used in the legislative and judicial branches and in the state’s K-12 schools.
Read the full storyMajority of Voters Say They’re Willing to Stop Buying Products from China to Counter CCP: Poll
More than three-out-of-four American voters say they would be willing to stop buying products made in China in order to help counter the Chinese Communist Party and lessen the United States’ dependence on Chinese manufacturing, according to a poll released Thursday.
Read the full storyCommentary: Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst Says Time Is Up for TikTok
Make no mistake about it, TikTok is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda machine living rent-free on the devices of 150 million Americans, and it’s putting our national security in jeopardy. This insidious app collects your data, surveils behavior, monitors user habits, and negatively influences our youth with an endless stream of addictive content.
Read the full storyTennessee Representative Gets Hearing Witness to Admit CCP Could Get ‘Ongoing Criminal Enterprise’ Designation for Role in Fentanyl Crisis
The U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions held a hearing about how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is fueling the influx of fentanyl at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Committee Member Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) asked former U.S. Treasury Special Agent Jonathan Cassara if the CCP could “be designated as a threat to our country.” Cassara said the CCP could “very well be designated as an ongoing criminal enterprise.”
Read the full storyRep. Mark Green Re-Introduces Bill to Kick Communist China Out of Hollywood
U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Wednesday re-introduced the Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now or SCREEN Act to discourage Hollywood from bowing to censorship from Beijing.
Green originally introduced the SCREEN Act just over a year ago on February 28, 2022, during the second session of the 117th Congress as H.R. 6855. Around the same time, the combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq issued a scathing op-ed calling on the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to put an end to Hollywood using the U.S. military for censorship by the Chinese.
Read the full storyLegislation Would Block Hostile Actors from Land Purchase Near U.S. Military Bases
Legislation in Congress would block China and foreign adversaries from buying land around U.S. military installations, including six major bases in North Carolina.
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, is cosponsoring Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act, which was reintroduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX. The legislation targets efforts by hostile actors from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea to acquire U.S. land close to U.S. military installations or areas.
Read the full storyEuropean Union Commission Suspends TikTok Use on Work Devices
The European Union Commission on Thursday suspended the use of TikTok on work devices and EU employees’ personal devices that are used for work.
“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission,” the agency said.
Read the full storyLawmakers Re-introduce Bill to Ban TikTok in the United States
TikTok’s days in the United States could be numbered under a bipartisan bill re-introduced by the heads of congress’ new Committee on China.
Reps Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) on Friday submitted the legislation, which would ban the controversial video-sharing app from operating in the United States.
Read the full storyWisconsin Congressman Sponsoring TikTok Ban Pleased to See Senate Effort Is Now Bipartisan
U.S. Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) this weekend expressed heightened optimism about the prospect of banning all American use of the video-sharing application TikTok after the Senate version of his bill to do so gained bipartisan support.
Last week, Senator Angus King, an independent who is a member of his chamber’s Democratic Caucus, joined Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in cosponsoring the legislation, known as the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act). The measure has enjoyed bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives since its introduction in December, being cosponsored by Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8).
Read the full storyNFL Lures Millions to TikTok Despite Rising Security, Privacy Concerns About the Chinese Platform
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off Sunday in the Super Bowl, but their competition extends beyond the gridiron to the social media stage, where the two teams are vying, along with the NFL’s other 30 franchises, for followers and engagement on TikTok, the controversial video-sharing app that reportedly has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Although spy balloons are currently dominating the headlines, the wildly popular TikTok appears to be China’s premier Trojan Horse.
Read the full storyRoger Simon: ‘The Most Important Thing in the World – China – Was Missing from Biden’s SOTU Address’
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Roger Simon in studio to comment upon the State of the Union address and America’s love affair with money at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.
Read the full storyBannon: Biden Must Be Impeached ‘As Soon As Possible’ for Lying About Chinese Spy Balloon
Live from Virginia Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed Stephen K. Bannon to comment on the cover-up of the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the entire continental United States and the corruption of the Biden regime.
Read the full storyTennessee Congressman Mark Green Introduces Bill that Would Make the U.S. Less Dependent on Chinese Manufacturing
Tennessee Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) re-introduced the Western Hemisphere Nearshoring Act in the 118th Congress on Wednesday.
Read the full storyHosts Leahy and Gulbransen Speculate Who Benefits from the Classified Documents Scandal
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in studio to examine who would benefit from Biden’s classified document debacle and why.
Read the full storyAmid Renewed Controversy, Penn Scholars Defend Opposition to China Initiative to Catch Spies
Revelations that President Joe Biden kept classified federal documents at his University of Pennsylvania office in Washington, D.C., have brought renewed scrutiny to his relationship with the university — and the role many Penn professors had in persuading his administration to kill a Justice Department project combatting Chinese espionage.
Read the full storyDeSantis, State Legislature to Further Limit Chinese Influence in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s considering banning Chinese entities from purchasing property in Florida and that the state legislature was looking at ways to further restrict the communist country’s influence in Florida.
“We don’t want to have holdings [in Florida] by hostile nations. If you look at the Chinese communist Party, they’ve been very active gobbling up land … and when they have interests that are opposed to ours and we see how they have wielded their authority especially with President Xi [Jinping], who’s taken a much more Marxist-Leninist turn, that is not in the best interest of Florida to have the Chinese Communist Party owning farm land, owning land close to military bases.”
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelists Brewer and Simon Question Intelligence Agency Indifference Towards Biden’s Top Secret Documents Being Discovered
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelists Clint Brewer and Roger Simon in studio to speculate on why the American intelligence agencies are looking to the other way in Biden top secret doc leak.
Read the full storyWisconsin and Illinois Congressmen Urges ESPN to End TikTok Relationship
U.S. Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) sent a letter this week to the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) opposing its decision to let TikTok run commercials during recent college football halftime shows.
The two congressmen are sponsors of a measure to ban the video-sharing application from all Americans’ computing devices. Gallagher and other Republican members of Wisconsin’s U.S. House delegation this month successfully encouraged Democratic Governor Tony Evers to prohibit the app’s download or use on any state-owned computers or phones. Numerous other state governments as well as the federal government no longer permit the program’s download or use by public entities.
Read the full storyWisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty: State Government Should Ban TikTok
A Milwaukee-based think tank is weighing in on the Wisconsin state government’s social media policy, urging Governor Tony Evers (D) to ban the video-sharing application’s use by state agencies.
In a report called “The Mysterious TikTok-ing Noise,” the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) notes that numerous other governors earlier this month signed orders instructing all departments under their control to delete the program from their devices. The piece also observed the unanimous vote taken last week by the U.S. Senate to adopt the same policy for all federal computer hardware.
Read the full storyWisconsin’s Gallagher and Illinois’s Krishnamoorthi File Bipartisan TikTok Ban Legislation
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers this week filed legislation in the House of Representatives to ban the TikTok video-sharing application nationwide.
Congressmen Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) submitted their bill in the House of Representatives while Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced companion legislation in his chamber. They call their measure the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act). It is written broadly enough to possibly prohibit use of other platforms operating under the influence of “a country of concern” such as China or Russia.
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