On this episode of China Uncensored,
want to know a foolproof way to catch a Chinese spy?
Ask him if he's a spy.
Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I'm Chris Chappell.
We take you now to New Zealand,
the small nation southeast of Australia,
and the secret location of Middle Earth.
New Zealand has two main islands,
five million citizens,
and 70 million sheep.
It's also home to this guy:
Jian Yang
--a member of New Zealand's parliament
who is definitely, totally,
not a spy for the Chinese government.
Unless he is.
Sort of.
Maybe.
That is, if you believe this recent investigation
by the Financial Times and New Zealand's Newsroom.
But Yang insists that the accusations he's a spy
are all part of "a racist 'smear campaign.'"
"I challenge those are propagating
these defamatory statements to front up and prove it."
Well...they kind of made a strong claim.
And to be clear,
the allegations of spy-stuff aren't because he's an immigrant
or because he's ethnically Chinese.
They're because of his actual links
to an actual Chinese spy agency.
The links are serious enough
that New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service
began looking into Jian Yang five years ago.
Jian Yang moved to New Zealand in 1999.
In 2011, he was elected as an MP--
a Member of Parliament.
But this report I mentioned
raises concerns that his prominent position
in New Zealand's government could be an "in"
for the Chinese Communist Party.
Yang spent decades at Chinese schools
known to train spies.
Although he accidentally forgot to include that
on any of his resumes.
Or that he used to be a member
of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ok, to be fair, we've all left something embarrassing
out of our resumes.
Like the time I hosted a Japanese game show
called Food Floor Dinosaur,
where contestants were forced
to crawl around a giant obstacle course,
while eating food that had been spilled on the floor,
while being chased by giant robot dinosaurs.
It's not quite as embarrassing as joining the Chinese Communist Party,
but it's close.
Between 1978 and 1994,
Jian Yang studied at the Air Force Engineering Academy
of China's People's Liberation Army,
and then taught English at the Luoyang Foreign Language Institute.
That last one may sound harmless enough,
but it's run by one of China's
"main military intelligence agencies,"
and is the equivalent of the United State's NSA.
The Luoyang Foreign Language Institute is part of
the PLA's Third Department.
In addition to being the perfect name for
the next Tom Cruise movie,
the Third Department is responsible
for spying on communications.
The Luoyang Foreign Language Institute
teaches up-and-coming young spies
how to speak the languages of the countries
they're going to be spying on after they graduate.
Besides learning English,
other classes include Tuxedo Wearing 101,
Talking to Your Shoe 101,
and Killing 30 Men Armed Only with Your Cufflinks 201.
That one's an advanced seminar.
Now this isn't to say Jian Yang is a Chinese spy.
He just taught English to Chinese spies
so they could do a better job of spying on foreign countries.
Still, this this isn't looking good for you, Jian Yang,
what's your response to the fact you
taught at an elite school for Chinese spies?
"I was a civilian officer.
I was paid by the military but I had no rank."
A civilian...officer?
Paid by the military?
Care to explain that?
"In China, in the military system,
you have ranking officers,
you have non ranking officers,
what you call civilians in the military."
I was one of the civilians in the military,
Ah I see.
So in China,
you have ranking officers.
And non-ranking officers.
And you were a non-ranking officer...
who taught classes to Chinese spies.
Heyyyy Macarena!
Did you know that the Macarena
is actually about a girl who cheats on her lover
with two of his friends?
And then wants to move to New York to seduce a new lover?
That's true.
Your favorite dance song from the 90s had terrible,
hidden depths.
Just like Jian Yang's connections to the CCP
and its spy agencies.
Well Jian Yang, do you have any other defense?
"I can understand that people can be concerned
because they do not understand the Chinese system.
But once they understand the system,
they should be assured that this is nothing,
really, you should be concerned about."
Exactly.
It's like that clown who lives in the sewers.
At first It seems scary,
but when you take the time to understand It,
you find out It's actually just some kind of
transdimensional spider that lives off the fears of children.
Uh, spoiler alert.
But it turns out that this spider also has a taste for creamy,
delicious, grass-fed New Zealand Anchor Butter.
On a large scale,
the Chinese Communist Party is working to subvert
New Zealand's government and society.
That was the finding of this recent report,
Magic Weapons:
China's political influence activities under Xi Jinping.
It uses New Zealand as a case study
for the Chinese regime's "attempts to guide,
buy, or coerce political influence abroad."
Why use New Zealand?
Apparently the Chinese Communist Party
feels the relationship with New Zealand
is a model for other Western countries.
In other words,
it would like it if all countries could be as easy to control.
That and Xi Jinping is a huge Lord of the Rings fan.
Why do you think that report is called Magic Weapons?
Xi Jinping is totally into LARPing.
He even learned to speak elvish.
Quenya and Sindarin.
The magic weapons are the tools
the Chinese regime uses to maintain its power.
Okay, this is sounding like Lord of the Rings.
According to that report,
one method the Communist Party uses
to influence foreign countries
is through Chinese communities living there.
The United Front Work Department is in charge of
creating and financing groups of ethnic Chinese.
There are about 200,000 Chinese people living in New Zealand.
As the report says,
"Beijing-supported united front groups in New Zealand
are too multitudinous to list in full."
One example, though,
is the Peaceful Reunification of China Association of New Zealand.
This is an organization set up in New Zealand.
But it also falls under the jurisdiction
of the Communist Party's United Front Work Department.
What's "peaceful reunification"?
That's about how the CCP wants to someday
"peacefully" bring Taiwan back under its control--
by peaceful military action if necessary.
This organization, "engages in a range of activities
which support Chinese foreign policy goals,
including block-voting and fund-raising
for ethnic Chinese political candidates
who agree to support their organization's agenda."
They're also the ones that organize counter-protests
to shout down those pesky human rights protesters
representing Free Tibet or Taiwan Independence
that come out whenever a Chinese leader visits New Zealand.
And surprise,
Jian Yang is linked to the Peaceful Reunification of China Association.
This article on their website brags that MP Jian Yang
was at their event in 2012.
Jian Yang has also worked with them
and other Chinese organizations to raise big money
from anonymous Chinese donors
to support New Zealand's National Party.
He's also accompanied the current and former
New Zealand Prime Minister on fabulous red carpet trips to China,
and met with high-level Chinese officials.
But does this mean Jian Yang is a spy for the CCP?
He says he's not a spy.
But he's also clearly not like the many immigrants
who left China because they don't like the Communist Party,
or want to disavow their connections with China's brutal regime.
No, he's definitely pro brutal regime.
I mean, Jian Yang was a former CCP member,
and he attended a Chinese military academy,
and taught English to spies-in-training at one of China's big spy schools,
and works with pro-CCP organizations in New Zealand.
But there's no conclusive evidence
that he's some sort of "plant"
or a James Bond type spy.
I mean, James Bond wouldn't be caught dead dressed like this.
It's clear that Jian Yang did not teach tuxedo wearing 101.
But there's actually a big spectrum
between not being a spy and being a spy for the CCP.
For example,
without being an actual spy,
you can still serve the interests of the CCP.
Like how Jian Yang helped lead New Zealand
to catch the "Belt and Road" train of Chinese investment.
So regardless of whether Jian Yang is a spy,
was a spy,
or was never a spy,
one thing's clear:
As a member of parliament,
he's representing pro-CCP interests
within the New Zealand government.
It's kind of like you have a government official,
but then you find out he used to work for Saruman.
And now the question is: Does he still work for Saruman?
The good news is,
have lots more time to figure that out,
since Jian Yang just got re-elected
as a list MP by the National Party.
So even though voters didn't directly vote for him,
his party wants to keep him around.
What do you think?
Leave your comments below.
Once again I'm Chris Chappell,
thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
I know, you'd rather be LARPing with Xi Jinping.
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