Rep. Eric Swalwell is set to campaign for a Democrat with ties to an organization that produced his Chinese spy “friend” Christine Fang.
Jay Chen, a candidate for California’s 45th congressional district, has refused to denounce his long-standing support for the Confucius Institutes — where Fang got her start.
Rep. Swalwell will be campaigning for Chen this weekend.
California Republican Rep. Michelle Steel issued a statement blasting Chen and Swalwell for supporting the Chinese Communist Party.
“Jay Chen is literally doubling down on his support and ties to Confucius Institutes and the Chinese Communist Party by campaigning this weekend with a congressman who has documented ties to the CCP,” said Michelle Steel Spokesperson Lance Trover. “This is further proof that his incessant cries of ‘racism’ are merely a distraction from the fact he still supports Chinese Communist Party Confucius Institutes. Voters should watch what he does, not what he says.”
On his campaign website, Chen has his biography written in Mandarin.
His biography says that as a school board member he created “dual language Spanish and Mandarin language programs to ensure all students have a chance to thrive and succeed.”
Rep. Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has infamously refused to answer questions about if he was sleeping with the Chinese spy.
Swalwell’s office claimed responding would require sharing “classified information” when Fox News host Tucker Carlson questioned them about whether or not they had a sexual relationship.
“His staff replied by saying that they could not comment whether Swalwell had a sexual relationship with Fang, because that information might be, quote, classified,” Carlson said on his show in 2020.
Fang has been accused of being an operative for China’s Ministry of State Security.
“Fang, who left the US in 2015 amid the investigation, also reportedly attempted similar influence operations on other Bay Area politicians, including Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, whom she volunteered for in his failed 2014 campaign,” the New York Post previously reported.