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1/ This was a a Utah/CCP research list I started under L's link thread. She is suspended again. I will continue to update. Trail head: In 2008 the Utah Senate created the Critical Language Bill with the support of then-Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. https://www.chinalawblog.com/2019/08/you-want-hope-for-u-s-china-relations-utah-is-the-gold-standard.html
2/ The primary sponsor of the bill, then-Senator Howard Stephenson, had traveled to China and determined Utah should be the vanguard state in producing school age children fluent in Chinese and other foreign languages. Jon Huntsman Jr. later became Obama's ambassador to China.
2.1/ Crescent Elementary wrote letters to CCP leader Xi Jinping and he wrote back. https://archive.is/cnCee
3/ China is Utah’s third largest trading partner and, in 2019, Utah exported almost $740 million in goods to China. Top Utah exports to China include computer and electronic products, chemicals, machinery and agricultural products. https://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/25603-expert-opinion-policy-trends-impacting-the-utah-china-relationship
4/ The author of this article keeps coming up, former national security advisor in gulf affairs, now CEO of World Trade Centers Utah. https://archive.is/GWPTK
5/ A speaker of Russian, Farsi, and Arabic, Hansen has firsthand experience in more than 70 countries and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. https://slchamber.com/wtc-utah-announces-new-president-ceo/
6/ One of Utah's legislators with close ties to China is state senator Jacob Anderegg, who also has strong personal ties with China.
In 2005, Anderegg spent time at two universities in China as part of his master's degree program. https://archive.is/m2Yhh
In 2005, Anderegg spent time at two universities in China as part of his master's degree program. https://archive.is/m2Yhh
7/ Greg Hughes, speaker of the Republican House of Representatives of the state of Utah, said the message this trip sends to China is "Utah is not like Washington DC; we are China's friends, and have been for a long time." https://archive.is/i9hPL
