In the wake of recent revelations that a billionaire Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member is the second-largest foreign owner of U.S. farmland and has somehow kept a low profile for nearly a decade, politicians looking for answers.
Chen Tianqiao estimates that: net worth According to $1 billion forbespurchased approximately 200,000 acres of farmland in Oregon for $85 million in 2015, the Daily Caller reported. revealed Wednesday.
Mr. Chen, 51, is the co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment and has been a ranking member of CCP for many years.
according to China Youth News, newspaper A member of the Communist Youth League of China, Chen joined the Communist Party of China at the age of 18 and was elected to the Central Committee of the Youth League in Shanghai. In 2008, the businessman was appointed to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
For reasons that are not immediately clear, the billionaire's purchases of U.S. farmland are not listed in government records of land ownership by foreign investors. daily mail report Saturday.
according to land reportChen said, “For almost 10 years, he's been staring us straight in the face.”
The 2015 purchase was reportedly made by Chen through his investment firm Whitefish Cascade Forest Resources LLC, which acquired the land from Fidelity National Financial Ventures for $430 an acre.
This remained a secret from the public until December 2023, when Oregon tax records revealed that the 198,000-acre parcel is now owned by Chen's investment company, Shanda Asset Management LLC. was.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reacted Go to news new york posttold reporters on Saturday that the Biden administration has “dropped the ball” on protecting farmland from hoarding by “foreign adversaries.”
However, the land purchase was made under the Obama administration and remained hidden during former President Donald Trump's tenure.
“Communist China is purchasing American farmland in order to subvert American sovereignty, weaken our agricultural industry, compromise our military installations, and upend American rural communities,” Stefanik said. .
A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he also owns a $39 million townhouse in New York City and a $26 million estate in Los Angeles, California, where he is currently based.
Stefanik continues to call on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take action against foreign ownership of agricultural land, writing: letter “Food security is national security,” he told the agency last year.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) renewed his call for Congress to secure U.S. land at a news conference Friday. statement:
While we learn more about the details of this developing situation, we hope that Congress will protect America's agricultural security and prevent foreign adversaries from taking control of our nation's food supply, while at the same time It highlights the need for further action to gain access to land near military locations.
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) need According to USDA, “Foreign investors who acquire, transfer, or hold interests in U.S. agricultural land are required to report such holdings and transactions to the Secretary of Agriculture.”
The largest foreign landowner in the United States is Canada's Irving family, which owns more than 1.2 million acres of land in Maine, including the Eastern Maine Railway and the Maine Northern Railway, both of which are subsidiaries of their holding companies.
