Free Republic

California’s two-term treasurer, Fiona Ma, has met with high-level Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and intelligence personnel dozens of times in the last several decades, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation discovered. During these many meetings in the U.S. and China, the Democratic frontrunner in California’s 2026 lieutenant governor race has introduced American lawmakers to Chinese intelligence officials and also repeatedly presented awards to CCP members and influence operatives, according to DCNF translations of Chinese government and state media reports. “We really should be more integrated,” Ma said during a 2023 interview with state-run media outlet CGTN. “The more that...

American intelligence officials warned last month that the Chinese Communist Party is directing its influence operations at "more pliable" local officials. That could explain why the head of Beijing’s top influence outfit just met with the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass. Lin Songtian, the president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, met with Bass, California treasurer Fiona Ma, and several pro-China think tanks during a 10-day stateside tour last month, according to Chinese state media. Lin said he had "extensive, candid, and friendly exchanges" about the "stabilization and improvement of Sino-U.S. relations."

State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma appears to have a very special interest in some special-interest legislation making the rounds both in Sacramento and in her hometown of San Francisco. At issue: legislation custom-tailored to give an outfit called Current Grid LLC a leg up in the emerging $5 billion energy-saving industry in California. Current Grid is an affiliate of the Current Group of Maryland, whose investors include Google, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Hearst Corp., which owns The Chronicle. Current Grid sells so-called smart meters - sophisticated electric meters for homes and businesses that allow utility companies to instantly monitor power...