{"id":2315605,"date":"2024-07-29T16:38:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T20:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-vp-front-runner-started-a-spy-technology-company-partially-funded-by-china\/"},"modified":"2024-07-29T16:41:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T20:41:05","slug":"democratic-vp-front-runner-started-a-spy-technology-company-partially-funded-by-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-vp-front-runner-started-a-spy-technology-company-partially-funded-by-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic VP Front-Runner Started a Spy Technology Company Partially Funded by China"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fdemocratic-vp-front-runner-started-a-spy-technology-company-partially-funded-by-china%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=2315605&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>Senator Mark Kelly, a\u200d Democrat from Arizona, is under scrutiny after\u2062 being considered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-nikki-haley-to-endorse-marco-rubios-reelection-campaign\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Nikki Haley To Endorse Marco Rubio\u2019s Reelection Campaign\">potential vice presidential candidate<\/a> for the 2024 election alongside President Biden. Reports suggest that he has emerged \u2064as a\u200b leading candidate for Vice \u2062President Kamala Harris&#8217;s running mate, ahead of other figures like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. <\/p>\n<p>This \u2062attention has led to questions regarding Kelly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-bows-to-china-shows-weakness\/\" title=\"Biden bows to China, shows weakness\">past business dealings<\/a>, particularly relating to China. Kelly co-founded \u200ba company called World View, which initially focused on \u200bspace tourism using balloons. However, Tencent, a major Chinese company known for its ties to the Chinese government, was one of the initial \u200cfounders of World View. The company has since shifted its focus to providing surveillance and remote sensing services and \u200dhas \u200dcollaborated \u200dwith various industries including energy and shipping.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Kelly met David Wallerstein, the head of Tencent USA, to discuss World View&#8217;s technology, which he\u200c later downplayed as a\u2064 brief\u200c conversation. Although he relinquished \u200ccontrol of\u200b the company when he entered politics, he still has investments in it \u2062through a blind trust. The scrutiny around Kelly intensified in 2023 \u2064when Chinese surveillance balloons traversed U.S. airspace, raising national security\u2063 concerns and drawing attention to the implications of Kelly&#8217;s business associations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section>\n<p>Arizona Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly faced increased scrutiny following news that he may become the Vice President nominee on the 2024 presidential election Democratic ticket.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly found himself on the top of a shortlist of Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo;s potential running mates, above names such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4797349-mark-kelly-seen-most-favorably-of-potential-vp-picks-followed-by-shapiro-beshear-buttigieg-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hill<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>The increased scrutiny has raised questions about Kelly&rsquo;s dealings with China.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-astronaut-sen-mark-kelly-started-spy-balloon-company-funded-china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/elon-musk-takes-mark-kellys-brother-makes-brutal-statement-fauci-yet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kelly<\/a> co-founded World View, a company that originally aimed to provide customers with space tourism using balloons.<\/p>\n<p>One of the company&rsquo;s earliest founders was Tencent, notoriously one of the largest companies in communist China, which the Chinese government therefore controls.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most famously, the company runs the Chinese social media app WeChat, which serves as a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-to-use-private-firms-to-surveil-service-members-social-media-accounts-for-concerning-behavior-report\/\" title=\"Biden To Use Private Firms To Surveil Service Members\u2019 Social Media Accounts For \u2018Concerning Behavior\u2019: Report\">powerful surveillance tool<\/a> for the Chinese government&rdquo; that collects users&rsquo; personal information, search history, messages and so on, as reported by Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, what once started as a mere tourism company expanded its offerings.<\/p>\n<p>World View balloons now provide clients with surveillance and &ldquo;remote sensing services.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Those clients have included companies dealing in lucrative industries like oil and gas, utilities, mining, shipping and insurance, to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>As World View&rsquo;s technology and business plan advanced, however, it began to grow a relationship with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/satellite-spots-troubling-sign-just-70-miles-major-u-s-base-china-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly held a meeting with the head of Tencent USA David Wallerstein in 2014. Accoridng to reports, Kelly introduced Wallerstein to World View&rsquo;s &ldquo;space tourism technology.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Arizona senator later downplayed the meeting as a short conversation.<\/p>\n<p>When Kelly chose to run for senate, he gave up all company control. However, the senator remains invested in World View through a blind trust.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, China famously sent surveillance balloons over the U.S. in 2023, generating great controversy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/3297104\/chinese-surveillance-balloons-global-in-scope-says-official\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Department of Defense<\/a> later revealed the same sorts of Chinese surveillance balloons were sent to many other countries as well.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We were able to determine that China has a high-altitude balloon program for intelligence collection that&rsquo;s connected to the People&rsquo;s Liberation Army. It was operating during the previous administration, but they did not detect it. We detected it. We tracked it. And, we have been carefully studying it to learn as much as we can,&rdquo; said John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communication at the White House National Security Council.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We know that these [Chinese] surveillance balloons have crossed over dozens of countries on multiple continents around the world, including some of our closest allies and partners.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arizona Democrat Senator Mark Kelly is under heightened scrutiny after reports suggested he could be the Vice Presidential nominee for the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election. He has emerged as a leading candidate on a shortlist of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris, surpassing figures like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, according to The Hill. This increased attention has sparked concerns regarding Kelly&#8217;s connections with China. <\/p>\n<p>As reported by Fox News, Kelly co-founded World View, a company that initially focused on offering space tourism through balloon flights. One of its early investors was Tencent, one of China&#8217;s largest companies and under government control. Tencent is also known for operating WeChat, which is described as a significant surveillance tool for the Chinese government that gathers users&#8217; personal data and communications.<\/p>\n<p>Over time, World View expanded its services beyond tourism to include surveillance and remote sensing capabilities for clients in various lucrative sectors such as oil and gas, utilities, mining, shipping, and insurance. As the company&#8217;s technology evolved and its business model changed direction towards China-related ventures, Kelly met with David Wallerstein from Tencent USA in 2014 to discuss World View\u2019s technology related to space tourism; however, he later characterized this meeting as brief.<\/p>\n<p>When Kelly decided to run for Senate office, he relinquished direct control over his company but continues to have investments in World View through a blind trust. Notably in 2023, China faced backlash after sending surveillance balloons over U.S. territory\u2014a situation that drew significant media attention. The Department of Defense later disclosed that similar Chinese balloons had been deployed across numerous countries globally.<\/p>\n<p>John Kirby from the White House National Security Council stated that they identified China&#8217;s high-altitude balloon program linked to intelligence gathering associated with the People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2014an initiative active during previous administrations but not detected until now\u2014and emphasized their ongoing efforts to study these incursions into allied airspace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/harris-4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36564,36562,32603,36563,36565],"class_list":["post-2315605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-china-funding","tag-democratic-vp","tag-political-news","tag-spy-technology","tag-technology-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/harris-4.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315605","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2315605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2315605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2315605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2315605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}