CCP member and Chairman Mao admirer Chen Tianqiao's $85MILLION purchase of Oregon timberland is missing from government records, alarming lawmakers:
- Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao bought 198,000 acres of US timberland in 2015, but it does not appear on federal records for foreign land owners
- It has sparked concerns among senators that the Biden administration is failing to keep tabs on Chinese investment amid growing tensions with Beijing
- Gaming mogul Chen's timberland purchase only hit the news after Oregon tax records released last month revealed his company as the beneficial owner
The purchase of $85million worth of US agricultural land by a Chinese billionaire and alleged Communist Party member has sparked outcry among lawmakers after it went largely unreported for eight years.
It emerged earlier this week that California-based online gaming pioneer Chen Tianqiao owns 198,000 acres of Oregon timberland, making him the second largest foreign owner of American land.
The sale went through in 2015, but only became widespread knowledge on Monday after Oregon tax records unveiled one of Chen's companies as the beneficial owner.
The 50-year-old is a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has held executive roles in CCP-affiliated organizations and is an admirer of Chairman Mao, according to multiple Chinese media reports.
He also owns a $39million Manhattan mansion and a $25million Los Angeles estate, while his Oregon land grab makes him the largest Chinese owner of US real estate.
Yet it does not appear anywhere in government records of agricultural land ownership by foreign investors, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The revelation that a billionaire from a hostile nation has been able to own such a huge swathe of US land for eight years without it appearing in official reports intended to track such acquisitions has sparked consternation across the political divide
Senators have accused the Biden administration of failing to keep tabs on Chinese investment, raising the prospect that its scale could be much larger than first thought.
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik accused officials of 'dropping the ball' on the matter.
'Food security is national security. We cannot protect our agricultural land from foreign adversaries if we do not know they are purchasing it,' she told DailyMail.com.
'The Biden Administration's failure to perform due diligence is inexcusable.'
Increased Chinese ownership of US land has sparked a backlash from some lawmakers who have cited concerns over espionage and security.
Chinese firms own more than $2billion worth of US farmland, up from just $162million a decade ago, according to the latest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures.
Department data shows CCP-linked firms had a stake in 346,915 acres of American agricultural land as of December 2022.
But this does not include the 198,000 acres of Oregon timberland owned by Chen, which is almost double the amount of land owned by former People's Liberation Army captain Sun Guangxin , previously thought to be the biggest Chinese owner of farmland in the US.
Chen was 18 when he joined the CCP, according to a 2007 article from Communist Youth Daily , the official newspaper for the Communist Youth League.
He has since repeatedly been identified as a CCP member by Chinese media outlets, as first reported by Daily Caller .
The father-of-two is also an admirer of Mao Zedong and his written works are prominently displayed in Chen's corporate office, according to Chinese media .
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That's quite the oversight by our government.
that's a lot of chop sticks...
Trillons
The government should claim eminent domain and get it back for national security reasons.
He is trying to sell off part of it now, the feds should make an offer. Could you imagine if the feds really did claim eminent domain? LOL, you see shit flying everywhere.
Or, they can do what they did to the Indian tribes - just take it back. Worked back then.
I don’t understand the hit on the Biden Administration, if the land was purchased in 2015 and the government failed to record the purchase, that was an Obama Administration failure.
Ha, I was waiting for someone to pick up on that, politics as usual.
It was purchased when the Obama administration was in power, followed by four years of Trump and three years of Biden. Sounds like a SNAFU.
Yep, hard to get good government workers.