Posted on 09/28/2020 10:32:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
Met with top China officials at 2003 Communist-hosted junket
The Chinese government invited then-astronaut Mark Kelly, now an Arizona Democratic Senate candidate, to an all-expenses-paid retreat at a countryside resort in 2003. He left China five days later not only with a future spouse, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D., Ariz.), but also with lucrative regime business contacts.
Kelly attended the annual Young Leaders Forum, a five-day junket cohosted by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, which is "under the leadership of the Communist Party of China." The conference allowed Kelly an opportunity to mingle with high-profile Communist Party officials and rising stars in Chinese society. Attendees included Cui Tiankai, now Chinese ambassador to the United States; Fang Xinghai, former director of the CCP's top committee on the economy; and Zhou Mingwei, the party's former top foreign propaganda honcho.
China analyst Gordon G. Chang said that party connections—such as those Kelly fostered—are "absolutely essential" for securing Chinese business deals.
"The Communist Party tries to control everything, whether it's a state enterprise or a private company," he said. "And so it's extremely important to have Communist Party contacts [to do business]."
Kelly has also had extensive ties with China since becoming a civilian. World View Enterprise, an aerospace company he cofounded and in which he still holds investments, received funding from Chinese tech giant Tencent, which censors the internet for Beijing. As the Washington Free Beacon reported, he also held a financial stake in a Colorado company that courted investments from a Chinese state-funded tech enterprise.
He now has assets worth up to $27 million, according to his financial disclosure.
A Kelly campaign spokesman said that the former aviator's participation was "coordinated by NASA," but did not answer questions about whether the Democrat used any of the contacts he met on the YLF trip for his business ventures. Instead, the campaign said that prominent Republicans also participated in the campaign.
Kelly and Giffords told multiple media outlets that they met during the Young Leaders Forum, without mentioning the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs. The retreat took place in a luxury hotel in the scenic Chinese countryside, where attendees went on pleasure cruise rides in between their panel discussions. Kelly gave a one-hour speech about his space experience, while Giffords participated in a panel discussion with Chinese politicos.
Kelly would participate in the 2004 and 2005 conferences as well. He called the experience "one of the absolute highlights of my life, second only to flying in space," and even took a Forum banner into space in 2006.
Kelly's campaign has been trying to deflect concerns about the candidate's business ties by emphasizing his military service and calling China a "threat to American interests." Nevertheless, they have remained contentious in the race, with Republicans spending millions on ads accusing him of dependence on China. He holds a 5.5 point lead against Republican incumbent Martha McSally, according to RealClearPolitics.
Great, another Senator for China.
McSally should be pounding him on this and his gun stances.
Line up all traitors in front of a firing squad.
McSally should be pounding him on this and his gun stances.
McSally is as GOPe as it gets. She no doubt dreams of Chicom cash, too.
“The Chinese government invited then-astronaut Mark Kelly, now an Arizona Democratic Senate candidate, to an all-expenses-paid retreat at a countryside resort in 2003. He left China five days later not only with a future spouse, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D., Ariz.), but also with lucrative regime business contacts.”
He was a NASA paid astronaut at the time. So whil eon US government payroll, he was taking bribes from red China.
What a POS.
He’s a maniac. But the Rino’s love him and regularly trash McSally, who has been a better than average senator, especially from the land of Flakes and McCain’s.
Red China is ruled by the CCP which places the godless communist totalitarian state over the people it rules.
Mark Kelly while still working for NASA sold himself to the CCP. His other immoral act was to exploit his wife’s disability to get himself center stage to enter politics.
Arizona voters should not reward Kelly with a vote to get him into our US Senate.
Do you remember when liberals use to wail about child labor and exploiting the poor workers? Haven’t heard that tune for a long time.
The problem is that there are many Americans, maybe in the hundreds of thousands that make a living from China. This is why you get so much Russian bashing, as there is nothing to lose, but very little China criticism. Many in the tech industry advise or manage operations in China, and they make sure their livelihood is kept safe.
Lots of Americans including Prescott Bush made a lot of money with the Nazis too.
BTTT.
Don’t active astronauts have to pass back round checks and report foreign contacts?
That would be my guess, but it’s not your grandfather’s NASA anymore..........................
Sadly...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.