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Chairman of the Select Committee on China, John Moolenaar (R-MI), along with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and senior UK lawmakers associated with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), have sent a formal letter to the 48 Group Club seeking clarity over the organisation's deep links with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its alleged "United Front" influence activities, as highlighted in a report by the Select Committee on the CCP (SCCCP).
The letter targets the organisation's deep-rooted links to Beijing's "United Front" influence operations. Moolenaar and Merkley, who serve as U.S. co-chairs of IPAC, sent the letter along with Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (IPAC UK Co-Chair, former leader of the Conservative Party) and Sarah Champion MP (IPAC UK Member). In the letter, the lawmakers warn, "United Front work is a sophisticated blend of engagement, influence, and intelligence operations that the CCP employs to shape its political environment and advance its strategic objectives. These operations seek to influence companies, associations, universities, think tanks, civic organisations, prominent individuals, and public opinion worldwide," as quoted in SCCCP's release. They also wrote that "The CCP sees the 48 Group as a tool for its ability to shape British narratives and for elite capture. Reportedly, with over 500 members, the 48 Group has been described as serving as a meeting place and networking hub for friends of China, through which Beijing grooms Britain's elites." Given the 48 Group's political access to the current UK government, the CCP is incentivised to cultivate influence with the organisation to provide it with channels of leverage over the United Kingdom, its government, and, by extension, its British and international audience. In turn, senior leaders of the 48 Group have been on record repeatedly spouting CCP talking points and propaganda, as highlighted in SCCCP's post. In conclusion, the lawmakers have urged the 48 Group Club to provide relevant documents, including "compliance, risk, and due diligence assessments that the 48 Group conducted when entering or expanding its partnerships with individuals affiliated with the CCP's United Front system," as referenced in the release by the Select Committee on the CCP (SCCCP). (ANI)
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