{"id":1139958,"date":"2021-12-22T00:04:22","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T05:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1139958"},"modified":"2021-12-22T00:04:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T05:04:24","slug":"report-33-members-of-congress-sit-on-advisory-board-of-group-with-ties-to-ccp-affiliated-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-33-members-of-congress-sit-on-advisory-board-of-group-with-ties-to-ccp-affiliated-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: 33 Members of Congress Sit on Advisory Board of Group with Ties to CCP-Affiliated Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-33-members-of-congress-sit-on-advisory-board-of-group-with-ties-to-ccp-affiliated-organization%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1139958&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Thirty-three members of Congress are listed on the \u201ccongressional advisory board\u201d of an organization that is partnered with a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated (CCP) think tank, according to a Washington Examiner&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/dozens-of-members-of-congress-advise-nonprofit-group-with-ties-to-ccp-linked-think-tank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) is a New York-based organization that focuses on international diplomacy and humanitarian work. Its website&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/thehdi.org\/congressional-advisory-board\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">boasts<\/a>&nbsp;33 members of Congress as members of their \u201ccongressional advisory board.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>The list includes seven House Republicans and 26 Democrats. The congressional advisory board \u201cinformally advises on programming and CAB [Change Advisory Board] members are active in HDI\u2019s domestic and international activities,\u201d according to its&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/thehdi.org\/2021\/11\/01\/hdi-is-honored-to-announce-new-congressional-advisory-board-members\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2017, HDI has had a&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/thehdi.org\/press\/taihe_inst_intl_beijing_aug_2017.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">partnership<\/a>&nbsp;with the Taihe Institute, a Beijing-based think tank that employs more than a dozen members of the CCP. HDI worked with Taihe Institute on their first annual Taihe Civilizations Forum held in August 2017. HDI\u2019s CEO was present for all of Taihe Institute\u2019s forums, except the one held in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Washington Examiner:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote readability=\"11.541108986616\">\n<p>HDI CEO Joseph Merante, a former career U.S. foreign service officer, spoke at the Taihe Institute\u2019s annual Beijing-based Taihe Civilization Forum every year between 2017 and 2020. During his&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taiheinstitute.org\/Content\/2017\/09-29\/0916437694.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">talk<\/a>&nbsp;at the 2017 Taihe Civilizations Forum, Merante urged&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china?utm_campaign=autolink&amp;utm_source=internal&amp;utm_medium=autolink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">China<\/a>&nbsp;to improve its \u201ccultural soft power\u201d and worldwide influence by making better use of cultural and artistic exchanges. And in his 2018 talk, Merante&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.titcf.org\/Content\/2018\/09-25\/1122099811.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">highlighted<\/a>&nbsp;the HDI\u2019s cooperation with Chinese businesses such as the video game developer Perfect World.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Several Republican members of Congress have condemned HDI after learning of their ties to the Taihe Institute. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) was unaware he was listed on HDI\u2019s congressional advisory board.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/dozens-of-members-of-congress-advise-nonprofit-group-with-ties-to-ccp-linked-think-tank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a>&nbsp;the Washington Examiner:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"10\">\n<p>It comes as a complete surprise to me that I am listed as a member. I was never notified by the Institute that I was named to the \u201cAdvisory Board,\u201d and I have had no interaction with the Institute at all since 2019, when I traveled on one sponsored trip to the Port of Antwerp as a member of the Ports Caucus.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_15325607\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"37\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/xi-jinping-china-glass-toast-chinese-flags-wine-file19-ap.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15325607\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/xi-jinping-china-glass-toast-chinese-flags-wine-file19-ap.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese President Xi Jinping raises his glass and proposes a toast during the welcome banquet for visiting leaders attending the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People, Friday, April 26, 2019. (Nicolas Asfouri\/Pool Photo via AP)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chinese President Xi Jinping raises his glass and proposes a toast during the welcome banquet for visiting leaders attending the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People, Friday, April 26, 2019. (Nicolas Asfouri\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Further, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) submitted his resignation from the board in a&nbsp;letter <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/548622521\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-7iu1XEqefnCzo3w5M7oJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">addressed<\/a> to HDI on Saturday:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"22\">\n<p>It is particularly abhorrent to me to be associated with an organization that has ties to a government widely known to actively support infanticide, engage in forced sterilization, exploit slave labor, and persecute religious minorities and political dissidents<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, I renounce any participation in HDI\u2019s Congressional Advisory Board and seek the removal of my name from any promotional materials, documents, letterhead, and website references of your organization.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, I implore you to reconsider your associations with the CP and to rethink what this connection has to your stated humanitarian mission.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>No Democrat members of Congress on HDI\u2019s advisory board have publicly spoken out against the organization following the bombshell report. However, the Washington Examiner&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/dozens-of-members-of-congress-advise-nonprofit-group-with-ties-to-ccp-linked-think-tank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted<\/a>&nbsp;that Rep. Al Green\u2019s (D-TX) name was removed from the HDI website at some point between Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats on HDI\u2019s congressional advisory board include some of the most prominent liberal lawmakers, such as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI).<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Examiner found no evidence that HDI sponsored congressional travel to China. HDI also denied accepting funds from any CCP \u201corgan or entity\u201d in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHDI has never accepted funds from the Taihe Institute or any Chinese Government organ or entity,\u201d the statement&nbsp;<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/548622520\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-EIxIjnF6SX3bn9fSd4ow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>. \u201cHDI has never had a program in mainland China. HDI did present at conferences organized by Taihe. HDI\u2019s presentations were limited to cultural diplomacy and the need for dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty-three members of Congress are listed on the \u201ccongressional advisory board\u201d of an organization that is partnered with a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated (CCP) think tank, according to a Washington Examiner\u00a0report. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1139958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1139958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1139958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1139958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1139958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}