Utah Democrats react to AP report alleging GOP-Communist China collusion

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Democratic Party is reacting to a recent report by the Associated Press that alleges collusion between the Utah GOP and the Chinese Communist Party.

“All Utahns should be incredibly concerned by the contents of this (AP) report and the ties it has revealed between Utah Republicans and the Chinese Communist Party,” according to Diane Lewis, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party.

In a prepared statement released Mar. 28, Lewis called the story issued Tuesday by AP correspondents Alan Suderman and Sam Metz a “damning report” highlighting the duplicitous and cozy relationship between Utah’s Republican leadership and the leaders of mainland China.

Lewis’ statement said the report details multiple instances of Chinese leaders working behind the scenes, often through lobbyists and foreign agents, to build relationships and exert influence over Republican leaders.

The AP said that its investigation relied on dozens of interviews with key players and the review of hundreds of pages of records, text message and e-mails obtained through public records’ requests.

While long on background, the AP story is short on actual accusations.

The only names mentioned in the report were Utah Sen. Jake Anderegg (R-Lehi), supposedly questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for introducing a pro-China resolution in the 2020 general session of the Legislature; Dan Stephenson, an employee of a China-based consulting firm; and Taowen Le, a professor of information technology at Weber State University.

In the AP story, all three of those individuals said their advocacy on China-related issues was self-directed rather than at the behest of the Chinese government.

Nor does the report suggest that anyone did anything illegal.

But Lewis insisted that the Chinese government has used Republicans to echo and amplify its propaganda and to block and alter legislation hostile to Chinese interests.

“As the authoritarian Chinese government is targeting ethnic minorities and cracking down on free speech and democracy,” she said, “Republicans seem to have no problem cozying up to them behind the scenes while they continue their own extremist attacks on freedom and democracy here at home.

“By contrast, Utah Democrats unwaveringly support democracy and freedom in the (Southeastern Asia) region and condemn ongoing oppressive actions of the Chinese government,” Lewis added.

To illustrate their support of embattled Taiwan, Lewis pointed to a recent trip there by Oscar Mata, the vice chair of the Utah Democratic Party.

During that early March visit, sponsored by the Association of State Democratic Committees, Mata met with the leaders of Taiwan’s two major political parties, the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • NoOneIsAboveTheLaw March 29, 2023 at 12:45 pm Reply

    Much to my chagrin, I am in complete agreement with the Democrats on this. The wide-spread influence of the Chinese Communist Party has intoxicated both Republicans and Democrats on a national scale, which has trickled down into the most unlikely places such as the Department of Education throughout the years. These politicians, and all public servants (Joe Biden included) who are funded by, in collaboration with, and who aid and abet the Chinese Communist Party are in violation of the Logan Act which explicitly forbids any American who holds political office from privately meeting with foreign leaders to conduct, formulate, or to influence American policy in any way. Of course, because America has become a nation of lawlessness and is now the epitome of moral bankruptcy, I am almost certain these criminal elements that have infiltrated all levels of our government and society will not be held accountable for their crimes. Joe Biden and his family have been on the Chinese Communist Party payroll for quite a while, his despotic crimes have been on display for the whole world to see, yet nothing has been done. I suspect nothing will be done to address these Republican crimes either.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.