As Minnesota Governor Tim Walz faces a congressional investigation into his ties to Chinese companies, one senior lawmaker has expressed indignation over allegations that the governor appointed members of a Chinese political party to a state committee.
In August, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting information about “Chinese entities and officials with which Governor Walz has been associated or affiliated” as part of an investigation into “elite capture,” a Chinese strategy aimed at building relationships with U.S. politicians.
last week, Daily Caller News Foundation The DCNF reported that one of Walz's appointees to chair the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) is an individual with ties to China's third-largest political party.
House Oversight Committee investigating Walz over longstanding ties to China
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
In 2021, Zhang Wang became the Chinese representative on the CAPM Board of Governors as vice chair. Her term ends in January. The board also includes representatives of Tibetan, Polynesian and Bhutanese descent.
However, Wang was, or is, one of the 25 members of the Central Civil Judicial Commission of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy (CAPD). [party]” the DCNF reported, citing an archived biography from the University of Minnesota.
In China, small parties like CAPD effectively operate with the explicit permission of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to China's state media, Xinhua, chairman of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Cai Dafeng, urged party members to rally together and provide appropriate advice to the ruling party.
Asked about the news, given his interactions with the FBI, Comer said he was “deeply concerned.”
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The House Oversight Committee is currently investigating Gov. Tim Walz's ties to China. (Getty Images)
“Governor Walz's recorded history and close ties to Chinese entities and officials … is a national security threat,” Comer said.
“Information obtained by the House Oversight Committee indicates that the Governor's decision to fully embrace China may have allowed the Chinese Communist Party to influence her decision-making as a legislator and governor, and, if Vice President Harris is elected, may also allow the Chinese Communist Party to influence the White House.”
The Kentucky senator added that the American people have a right to know the full extent of Walz's ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Committee continues to urge the FBI to provide all relevant information in its possession.”
His CAPM BackgroundMr. Zhang studied film production at the Beijing Film Academy, earned a degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. His legal areas include immigration law, art law and foreign direct investment.
Fox News Digital attempted to contact Chan through his Kingsfield law firm but was unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Comer suggested the FBI “did not respond” to a request for information issued a month ago.
“The Committee has requested information regarding Chinese Communist Party-related entities and officials with which Timothy Waltz has been associated, as well as any warnings or information the FBI provided to Waltz or his office about Chinese Communist Party influence activities. The deadline for providing these documents and information has passed, and the FBI has not responded to the Committee,” Comer said, calling the FBI's silence “inexcusable.”
Waltz reportedly visited China about two dozen times, and Comer said he organized a trip to the communist country for his students in 1993 when he was a high school teacher in Box Butte County, Nebraska.
In 2007, while serving as a member of parliament, Waltz was also a research fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University in Macau.
“Macau Polytechnic University is located along the Belt and Road Initiative, a political warfare plan designed by President Xi Jinping to expand Chinese influence around the world,” Comer said in a separate statement.
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Governor Tim Walz speaks at LaborFest. (Fox News)
But Zhang told DCNF his only connection to China is through his elderly parents, the outlet added, adding that his current University of Minnesota biography lists no Chinese political affiliation. Archive Link I had it.
According to Defense Department documents, Zhang's parents were scientists at a Chinese academy whose research contributed to military products.
“Waltz can't explain this pattern,” China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax in a recent interview about the evidence of ties to Chinese companies.
Walz is not the first Democrat to draw attention for his alleged ties to China or Chinese interests.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., pushed back against criticism of suspected Chinese spy Fan Fan, who he said sought to build a “close relationship” with the congressman's office starting in early 2014.
Swalwell previously said that when the FBI warned him about Fan's potential ties to Chinese espionage, “I did everything I would expect everyone to do, which was to cooperate and assist the FBI, and she was fired.”
Similarly, the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) fired her professional driver of 20 years after receiving federal notice of a similar suspected relationship.
Earlier this month, New York State Police arrested an aide to Gov. Kathy Hawkle on charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.
In a statement, Hokel said Linda Sun was hired by the state executive branch “more than 10 years ago,” adding that the state fired her in 2023 due to evidence of misconduct. Hokel's office said Sun was first hired by the executive branch 10 years ago, a time when Andrew Cuomo would have been in Albany.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Walz's office in St. Paul and the Harris campaign for comment.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report..
