Elliott Broidy’s efforts to lobby the president came close to succeeding, exposing gaps in the system.
Illustration by Sam Ward
Listen to SupChina editor-at-large and Sinica podcast host Kaiser Kuo read this article.
In early 2017, just after Donald J. Trump entered the White House, an exiled Chinese billionaire named Guo Wengui began broadcasting sensational claims about corruption involving China’s top leaders — all from his $68 million penthouse apartment overlooking New York City’s Central Park.
A self-styled whistleblower, Guo made his accusations on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and even — for a brief time — on the Voice of America. He claimed, for instance, that the HNA Group, a powerful Chinese conglomerate, had bribed Chinese officials and allowed Party leaders the use of its private jet to engage in extramarital affairs. He said China’s security chiefs were corrupt, bumbling Keystone Cops; and he posted ID cards, passport photos and even flight manifests to prove that the country’s top leaders were crooks who had billions of dollars in assets stashed offshore.HNA Group strongl
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