“That was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy, and everyone knows it, but thanks for entertaining.”
That was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), in a Homeland Security Committee hearing last Wednesday. The Georgia Republican was responding to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). During questioning of Homeland Security boss Alejandro Mayorkas, Swalwell criticized Greene for calls to defund the FBI.
Greene responded by evoking Swalwell’s liaisons with the Chinese spy. Espionage by a hostile foreign power is a serious matter, but committee members were not eager to review the case.
“Accusations of an affair with a Chinese spy,” interjected Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) “those are engaging in personalities, and those words should be taken down, and the gentle lady should not be able to speak anymore in this hearing.” Observers might wonder if Greene’s “accusation” had any substance.
Axios broke the story in a December 8, 2020 exclusive running nearly 3,700 words and headlined “Suspected Chinese Spy Targeting California Politicians.” According to the report, based on a year-long investigation, China’s “main civilian agency spy” was Fang Fang also known as Christine Fang, and “acting at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).”
Fang “targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage.” One of the “most significant targets of Fang’s efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell.”
“Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign,” the report notes, and “Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf.” Fang also “helped place at least one intern in Swalwell’s office” and Fang “interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years.” At similar events across the country, Fang showcased her skills.
The Chinese spy “also engaged in sexual or romantic relationships with at least two mayors of midwestern cities over a period of about three years,” the Axios report reveals. She was a sleeper agent of a different sort, and the late Rush Limbaugh dubbed her “PoonFang.” When the FBI began sniffing around, PoonFang “unexpectedly returned to China,” but the story does not end there.
Swalwell blamed the Axios report on President Trump, and said he no longer had contact with the Chinese agent. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) kept Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee, a move that doubtless pleased PoonFang’s Communist Party handlers. As the Axios report notes, Swalwell was not their only big score.
“Access to local political offices can give Beijing’s intelligence operatives opportunities to collect information on communities of Chinese descent in the United States. A high-profile example of this occurred in the 2000s when China’s Ministry of State Security allegedly recruited a San Francisco-based staffer in Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office.”
Feinstein listed that person as “office director” and the Chinese recruit even attended consular functions for the senator. When the story broke, Feinstein forced the spy to retire. The FBI brought no charges, and the San Francisco Democrat escaped any serious investigation of damage the spy may have caused during nearly 20 years on her staff.
The same was true of Swalwell, known for parroting Chinese propaganda. Swalwell did get booted from the intelligence committee once the Republicans took over in January, but so far no reports of sudden FBI raids on his office or residence. Meanwhile, the Chinese spies who targeted California politicians face fewer obstacles.
Back in 2019, Joe Biden said that China’s Communist leaders were “not bad folks.” Biden ended a Trump-era program to hunt down Chinese spies who rip off state secrets, trade secrets, and American intellectual property. Despite open ties to China’s military, Chinese national Tang Juan gained access to UC Davis and federal prosecutors suddenly dropped charges against five Chinese nationals also tied to China’s military.
China recently deployed a surveillance balloon that traversed the entire continental United States, including sensitive military bases. China also operates police stations in America, now a target-rich environment for the communist regime.
Fang Fang was China’s main civilian agency spy and one of her primary targets was Swalwell, who ran for president in 2020. But when Marjorie Taylor Greene mentions Swalwell’s liaisons with a Chinese spy, Democrats move to shut her down.
PoonFang hasn’t testified, but China’s main spy may have compiled a report that reads something like this. Back home in China, PRC bosses doubtless keep PoonFang busy training replacements for deployment in Swalwell’s state. As the Axios report notes:
The Bay Area offers ideal conditions for a foreign intelligence operative aiming to identify and target ambitious local politicians with national aspirations. Some of America’s most powerful politicians got their start in Bay Area politics, and China recognizes California’s importance. The MSS has a unit dedicated solely to political intelligence and influence operations in California.