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The CCP hired PODESTA GROUP lobby DC!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_Exchange_Foundation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_Exchange_Foundation
The China–United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) is a Hong Kong-based nonprofit organization whose stated aim is to encourage dialogue and exchanges between the people of the United States and China.
CUSEF was founded in 2008 by Tung Chee-hwa, a billionaire, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and vice chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who remains the chairman of the foundation
Critics state that CUSEF is a central part of the Chinese Communist Party's united front strategy of influence in the U.S.
In 2018, the University of Texas at Austin refused a donation from CUSEF after a letter by Senator Ted Cruz raised concerns about the foundation's CCP link
In 2018, the University of Texas at Austin refused a donation from CUSEF after a letter by Senator Ted Cruz raised concerns about the foundation's CCP link
According to Foreign Agents Registration Act filings, CUSEF is classified as a "foreign principal" which has hired lobbying and public relations firms since 2009 such as the Podesta Group to craft and promote pro-Beijing messages.
The CPPCC, “a patriotic united front organization of the Chinese people, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party” (CPPCC, May 11, 2011), is the most prominent bureaucratic entity controlled by the UFWD.
The Podesta Group, once known as one of Washington’s most influential lobbying firms, registered in March 2015 to perform services for CUSEF. In its disclosures, the firm indicated only that it intended to lobby offices in both houses of Congress.
In 2017, its last year of operation, the firm billed a total of $290,000 for its services on behalf of CUSEF ($80,000 each quarter, except for $50,000 in quarter four).
Other Major Organizations doing business with the CCP through this Front include: BLJ Worldwide (Brown Llyod James), Fontheim International LLC, Covington & Burling LLP, Capitol Counsel LLC, Wilson Global Communications, BGR Government Affairs
The identity of the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation—that of a nominally private entity, which in actuality functions as a de facto front organization for the PRC government—allows it to play a valuable role in Beijing’s efforts to sway public opinion and build influence in America
CUSEF’s extensive contracts with U.S. lobbying and public relations firms—contracts involving both sums and a breadth of activities difficult to reconcile with those of a genuine non-profit civic foundation—represent a sort of “lobbying laundering”
This means nominally independent third-party organization act as a primary agent for funding and managing lobbying efforts on behalf of the PRC.
