How China became wrongly a boogey man in the US elections – Victor Shih

 

Victor Shih

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican candidate for the US presidential elections, became the latest to go after China as a target to galvanize support against four private schools in Florida, funded by investment firm Primavera for “direct ties to the Chinese Communist party”. China expert Victor Shih explains in the Guardian why China is the wrong target.

The Guardian:

It was a desperately needed moment of grandeur for Ron DeSantis: the Florida governor’s strongman act over China briefly lifting his stuttering presidential campaign during last week’s Republican primary debate in California.

But what DeSantis left unsaid as he railed against China’s growing global influence, while promising a “hard power” approach to Beijing should he win the White House, was how his posturing was hurting students and families back in his home state.

While their governor was speaking thousands of miles away, hundreds of distressed and bewildered parents in Florida were trying to figure out their next move after DeSantis stripped four private schools of state scholarship money, alleging without evidence they had “direct ties to the Chinese Communist party”.

Without state funding, many families face having to withdraw their children and find alternative educational arrangements barely a month into the school year…

Victor Shih, associate director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California at San Diego’s school of global strategy and policy, said: “For the Republican side, also to some extent on the Democratic side, China has become this sort of boogeyman, a catch-all opponent of the US in a way that does not take into account a lot of economic and social realities.

“Primavera is not the Chinese communist party. They do manage money for China’s sovereign wealth fund, that’s well-documented, but so does BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, and I don’t see Ron DeSantis going after others who have managed money for China. You cannot say that anyone who does business with the investment arm of the Chinese government is acting on its behalf.

More in the Guardian.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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No wide-spread China meddling in US elections - Victor Shih

Victor Shih

Following the investigation into Russia meddling into US elections, California Congressman Jeff Denham has also accused China of the same. While there have been some minor spying incidents, political analyst Victor Shih, author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation, does not see a similar effort for interference from China, he tells Politifact.

Politifact:

In her response, Denham’s spokeswoman cited news reports that a staffer who once worked for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein had a connection to Chinese spying. 

Victor Shih, an associate professor at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, said, however, there’s no indication the staffer had any role in election interference. 

Shih said another matter from the 1990s, and not cited by Denham’s office, does show one "clear case of China trying to influence elections." 

In 1996, Johnny Chung, a Taiwanese-born California businessman, pleaded guilty to illegally funneling money from China to President Bill Clinton and the Democratic National Committee during Clinton’s re-election campaign. 

Chung later testified before Congress that the donations included $35,000 from the head of China's military intelligence agency to Clinton’s successful reelection effort. The FBI even warned six members of Congress at the time: "We have reason to believe that the government of China may try to make contributions to members of Congress through Asian donors." 

Shih and the other experts we contacted said, however, the Chung matter does not represent a widespread, persistent effort by China to interfere in U.S. elections. China is suspected, he added, of conducting a recent and broad political influence campaign in Australia. 

"Meddling, of course, there are some cases of it (by China in the United States)," Shih said. "But to say that it’s pervasive or everywhere, I think it’s a bit of a stretch."

More at Politifact.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Are you looking for more political analysts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.