Quote:
Originally Posted by mikemhg
Spoiler!
Sure I'll respond to this. Let me start by saying Joe Biden has never been my first choice, so forcing me to come in here and cape for him just isn't realistic in my opinion. There is no doubt in my mind that Hunter Biden never deserved a spot as a high ranking position for a Ukrainian firm, you'll never hear me argue against that.
As I've said before, his name carries value, a foreign company will happily pay a person with a name tied to the Vice President of the US to represent them without a second thought. The same way you would never have heard of Willow or Jaden Smith if they weren't the children of Will.
The thing is I can see nuance to all of this. You've heard of the term the lesser of two evils, I see Joe Biden as the representation of just that. I don't see the world as simply black and white as welfare or Hehe do, who can't hold their supported candidate to the fire for his obvious and rampant corruption. This isn't a zero sum argument, if you follow both Trump and Joe Biden's careers, the obvious levels of corruption and criminality are quite apparent when viewing Trump's history.
Do I think Joe Biden and his family have benefited from his place in government? Of course. There is a reason why the average senator at the bottom end is at least a millionaire. You don't acquire that type of wealth through only civil service. To decry Biden, and yet ignore Trump's criminality is what I find disingenuous. Joe Biden has been a public figure for damn a half century, if this is the most dirt you can pull on him, that's pretty weak in my opinion.
Now in terms of this story specifically, I cannot lay any judgement yet. I require more information, and it does not help that the only news sources reporting this story are rightwing in nature, there is a clear bias. As more information comes out, I will be happy to provide more of an opinion.
To me though, this election represents more than this story, it's what Trump represents not only as a person, but to culture in general, and the insidious parts of our society that he provides breath to.
It sounds like this business partner will be going in front of the house representatives, so we'll see how this unfolds
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FYI, if you want to read further on Biden's connection to China, there is a deep investigative report released yesterday by Christopher Balding, Associate Professor at Peking University HSBC School of Business Shenzhen, China and also Bloomberg contributor. I believe this is as unbiased as you can probably get. Even if you are supporting Biden as a lesser of two evils, which I have no qualms about, I think this is important to know.
https://www.baldingsworld.com/2020/1...es-with-china/
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In Balding's intro:
https://www.baldingsworld.com/2020/1...es-with-china/
First, I did not write the report and I am not responsible for the report. I have gone over the report with a fine tooth comb and can find nothing factually wrong with the report. Everything is cited and documented. Arguably the only weakness is that we do not have internal emails between Chinese players or the Chinese and Bidens that would make explicit what the links clearly imply.
Second,
I will not be disclosing the individual who did write this report. They have very valid reasons to fear for both their personal safety and professional risks. Throughout the years that I have known this individual we never discussed politics. I have never heard them criticize any political party other than the CCP. They are not a Republican.
Third, it was my very real wish that the press would have reported on the documented evidence in this report and left me and the author entirely out of this situation.
I did not vote for Trump in 2016 and will not vote for him in 2020. This information however is entirely valid public interest information that the press has simply refused to cover due to their own partisan wishes. I have serious policy differences with President Trump. I am pro-immigration. I would like to see more free trade efforts to shift trade away from China and into partner countries from Mexico to Vietnam and India. I believe that institution building in Asia is vital and America needs to take that lead. However, I cannot in good conscience allow documented evidence of the variety presented here go unreported by partisans who are simply choosing to hide information.
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Balding's summary of the report
Spoiler!
Hunter Biden is partnered with the Chinese state. Entire investment partnership is Chinese state money from social security fund to China Development Bank. It is actually a subsidiary of the Bank of China. This is not remotely anything less than a Chinese state funded play.
Though the entire size of the fund cannot be reconstructed, the Taiwanese cofounder who is now detained in China, reports it to be NOT $1-1.5 billion but $6.5 billion. This would make Hunters stake worth at a minimum at least $50 million if he was to sell it.
Disturbingly, everyone on the Chinese side are clearly linked with influence and intelligence organizations. China uses very innocuous sounding organization names to hide PLA, United Front, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs influence/intelligence operations. This report cannot say Hunter was the target of such an operation or that China even targeted him. However, based upon the clear pattern of individuals and organizations surrounding him it is an entirely reasonable conclusion.
Finally, the believed Godfather in arranging everything is a gentleman named Yang Jiechi. He is currently the CCP Director of Foreign Affairs leading strategist for America, Politburo member one of the most powerful men in China, and Xi confidant. Why does this matter?
He met regularly with Joe Biden during his stint as Chinese ambassador the US when Biden chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Later he was Minister of Foreign Affairs when the investment partnership was made official in 2013. Importantly, the Taiwanese national listed MOFA institutions as the key clients in helping to arrange everything. Yang would clearly have known the importance of Hunter Biden and undoubtedly would have been informed of any dealings. Given that he is now the point person in China for dealing with the US this raises major concerns about a Biden administration dealing impartially with an individual in this capacity. These are documented facts from Chinese corporate records like IPO prospectuses and media. They raise very valid concerns about Biden linkages to China.
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10-point summary from the full report
https://www.baldingsworld.com/wp-con.../10/KVBJHB.pdf