So casino mogul & RNC official Steve Wynn is lobbying the president on behalf of the Chinese government. Amazing. https://t.co/Aqr1BQwHDV
— Neil King (@NKingofDC) October 23, 2017
From an American perspective, making Donald ‘Pissy Galore‘ Trump the James Bond stand-in pretty well guarantees a box-office failure. But in the booming Chinese viewing market, who can tell?
(All I know for certain is that it would be kharmic justice if every single individual name-checked in this story were to come to a bad end. But if anyone has better information, please share!)
The Wall Street Journal broke the story, which is some kind of indicator right there. (Since I don’t have a WSJ subscription, I found a screencap of the article, which may or may not have infected my laptop with unknown malware.)
The Guardian picked it up, today:
… The Wall Street Journal described a Chinese government attempt to put pressure on Guo Wengui, a real estate tycoon living in exile in New York, to halt his allegations of corruption in high places in China.
A group of officials from China’s ministry of state security, who entered the US on visas that did not allow them to conduct official business, visited Guo in his New York apartment in May, and used veiled threats in an attempt to persuade Guo to stop his accusatory tweets, which have a wide following in China, and return home. Guo shrugged off the pressure and made a recording of his conversation with the officials, part of which he posted online.
After that visit, FBI agents confronted the Chinese officials at New York’s Pennsylvania Station. The Chinese visitors first claimed to be cultural diplomats and then admitted they were security officials. The agents warned them they were violating the terms of their visa and told them to leave the country.
However, two days later, just before leaving the country, the Chinese officials paid a second visit to Guo, triggering a debate within the administration over whether they should be arrested. FBI agents were posted at John F Kennedy airport ready to carry out the arrests before the officials boarded their flight, but they were not made, after the state department argued it could trigger a diplomatic crisis.
Guo has filed an application for political asylum in the US, which is pending. But according to the Journal’s account, Trump called for Guo’s deportation in a discussion on policy towards China, describing him as a “criminal” at an Oval Office policy meeting in June, on the basis of a letter from Beijing accusing him of serious crimes…
The Financial Times had an earlier article about why the Chinese government is unhappy with Mr. Guo:
…China’s choreographed politics is not designed for public participation or questioning. But Mr Guo’s determined assault has questioned the reputation of Wang Qishan, the second-most powerful politician, and cast doubt on the integrity of the anti-corruption purge that Beijing claims is a success.
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