Second-Largest Foreign Owner Of US Land Is Member Of The CCP
A member of the Chinese Communist Party is the second-largest foreign owner of US land, according to the Daily Caller.
Billionaire Chen Tianqiao, founder, chairman and CEO of Shanda Group, owns around 200,000 acres of land in Oregon, according to Land Report. His involvement with the CCP ranges from membership to executive roles in CCP-linked organizations, the DCNF reports following a review of Chinese-language media reports.
In 2015, Chen acquired 198,000 acres in Oregon, according to Land Report. The $85 million purchase made the Chinese national the 82nd-largest property owner in the U.S. and the second-largest foreign U.S. land owner, Bloomberg reported, second only to a Canadian family who owns over 1 million acres of Maine.
Oregon’s Bull Springs Skyline Forest accounts for approximately 33,000 of Chen’s acreage, according to Land Report. The forest is located west of Bend, Oregon, and is home to springs, creeks, timberland and wildlife, according to the Bull Springs Skyline Forest website.
Oregon Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she was “deeply concerned that individuals tied to the Chinese Communist Party are buying up timberland, which is one of our most precious and finite resources.” -Daily Caller
"Foreign ownership of United States lands is a serious problem that has rightfully sparked unease among farmers, ranchers and foresters across the country," said Chavez-DeRemer.
In addition to the farmland, Chen also owns various urban properties throughout America, including the Vanderbilt mansion in Manhattan and the Seely Mudd Estate near Los Angeles. He also owns a 150,000 sqft. research facility at Caltech - the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience.
"One of the Chinese Communist Party’s goals is to undermine and weaken America," Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) told the Caller. "This includes instances where our greatest adversary continues to buy land — whether its farmland or near our installations."
According to a translation of a 2005 press release from Chen's alma mater, Fudan University in Shanghai, "In 1990, Chen enrolled in Fudan University to major in economics, the following year he joined the Chinese Communist Party, and, in 1993, he won the title of ‘Shanghai Municipal Outstanding Model Cadre Student."
According to a 2007 article from Communist Youth Daily, Chen was 18-years-old when he joined the CCP, and has since been identified repeatedly as a CCP member by various Chinese media outlets.
A 2016 Sohu.com article identified Chen and several other Chinese CEOs as CCP members. Likewise, Chen’s profile on the Chinese financial portal Sina, which was last updated in November 2023, identifies him as a CCP member.
The state-run Beijing Review describes Chen as an admirer of Mao Zedong, first chairman of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Several Chinese-language outlets have also reported that Chen’s corporate office prominently displays Mao’s written works.
Chen even has a favorite Mao Zedong quote, according to state-run media outlet China News Service: “Strategically we should despise all our enemies, but tactically we should take them all seriously.”
Mao delivered the remarks in a speech denouncing American imperialism during a visit to Moscow in November 1957, according to the University of Dayton Review. -Daily Caller
"The increase in PRC-affiliated U.S. land purchases in recent years is a growing cause for concern," a House Select Committee on the CCP aide told the DCNF. "We can start with adding a presumption of denial for entities affiliated with the PRC when it comes to land acquisitions near national security sites such as military bases that the CCP could use for intelligence collection or worse."