Walz appointee with apparent CCP ties could expose potential veep's national security weakness, lawmaker says

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With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz under congressional scrutiny for his connections to Chinese entities, one top lawmaker fumed at allegations he had appointed a Chinese political party member to a state board.

In August, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting information on "Chinese entities and officials Governor Walz has engaged and partnered with" as part of its investigation into "elite capture" – or China’s strategy of developing relationships with U.S. political figures.

Last week, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) reported that one of Walz’s chairperson appointments to the Council of Asian-Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) is a person with ties to China’s third-largest political party.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In 2021, Chang Wang took his seat as vice chair representing Chinese ancestry on the CAPM’s board. His term expires in January. Other ancestries represented on the panel include Tibetan, Polynesian and Bhutanese.

Wang, however, was or is one of 25 members serving on the Central Civil and Judiciary Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) [party]," the DCNF reported, citing an archived University of Minnesota biography.

In China, minor parties like CAPD effectively operate with the express permission of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

CAPD Chairman Cai Daifeng has urged CAPD members to rally around the CCP Central Committee and properly advise the ruling party, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.

When asked about the news in light of his correspondence with the FBI, Comer said it is "deeply concerning."

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The House Oversight Committee is currently investigating Gov. Tim Walz's Chinese ties. (Getty Images)

"Governor Walz’s documented history and cozy relationship with Chinese entities and officials is … a national security threat," Comer said.

"Based on information obtained by the House Oversight Committee, the governor’s decision to embrace China with open arms may have allowed the CCP to influence his decision-making as a congressman and governor and potentially would allow the CCP to influence the White House should Vice President Harris be elected."

The Kentucky lawmaker added that Americans deserve to have the full picture of Walz’s reported ties to the CCP.

"The committee will continue to push the FBI for all relevant information in its possession."

According to his CAPM biography, Chang studied filmmaking at Beijing Film Academy, holds an art history degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign and got his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. His legal focus is immigration law, art law and foreign direct investment.

Fox News Digital reached out to Chang via his Kingsfield Law firm but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Comer indicated that the FBI has "failed" to comply with his month-old request for information.

"The committee requested information about the CCP-affiliated entities and officials with which Mr. Timothy Walz has engaged, as well as any warnings or information the Federal Bureau of Investigation has provided to Mr. Walz or his office about CCP influence operations. The deadline to produce such documents and information has passed, and the Bureau has failed to provide any response to the Committee," Comer said, calling the bureau’s silence "inexcusable."

Walz has reportedly visited China about two dozen times, and Comer noted he organized a 1993 trip to the Communist nation for his students. He had been teaching high school in Box Butte County, Nebraska, at the time.

In 2007, Walz was a fellow at Macau Polytechnic University in the autonomous Macau region while he was a member of Congress.

"Macau Polytechnic University exists ‘in alignment with China’s Belt and Road Initiative,’ a political warfare program developed by President Xi Jinping to exert China’s influence worldwide," Comer said in a separate statement.

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Gov. Tim Walz speaking at LaborFest. (Fox News)

However, Chang told DCNF that his elderly parents are his only ties to China. The outlet added that his current University of Minnesota bio does not include his Chinese political affiliation as the archived link had.

Chang’s parents were scientists at a Chinese academy whose work contributed to military products, according to a Pentagon document.

"Walz… can’t explain away the pattern," China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax in a recent interview regarding evidence of ties to Chinese entities.

Walz is not the first Democrat to receive attention for his alleged ties to China or Chinese interests.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has batted back criticisms in regard to Fang Fang, a suspected Chinese spy who had worked to develop "close ties" with his office as early as 2014.

Swalwell said previously that when the FBI alerted him to Fang’s potential ties to Chinese espionage, he "did everything I hoped everyone would do, which was to cooperate and help the FBI – and she was removed."

Similarly, when the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was notified by the feds that her professional driver of 20 years was also suspected of similar ties, she fired him.

Earlier this month, police in New York State arrested an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul on charges of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.

Linda Sun was hired by the executive chamber "more than a decade ago," Hochul said in a statement, adding that the Empire State fired her in 2023 over evidence of misconduct. Hochul's office said Sun was first hired by the executive branch a decade ago – a timeframe that would instead have placed Andrew Cuomo in Albany.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Walz’ office in St. Paul and the Harris campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.