by Philip Lenczycki
A U.S. media outlet with financial ties to organizations led by members of alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operations announced it was shutting down on Monday.
The China Project (TCP), a multimedia group renowned for its China reporting, blamed “politically motivated attacks” and “enormous legal costs” for a “funding shortfall” resulting in the company’s decision to close. In 2022, the Daily Caller News Foundation identified numerous organizations headed by members of the CCP or CCP influence operations that had partnered with or financially sponsored the outlet.
A former employee fired by TCP also accused the organization of being linked to the CCP in a sworn declaration to Congress and federal agencies.
“We have been accused many times in both countries of working for nefarious purposes for the government of the other,” TCP’s editor-in-chief, Jeremy Goldkorn, wrote on Monday. “Defending ourselves has incurred enormous legal costs, and, far worse, made it increasingly difficult for us to attract investors, advertisers and sponsors.”
“The media business is precarious, and the politically motivated attacks on us from various interested parties put us in an even worse situation,” Goldkorn continued. “And this week, we learned that a source of funding that we had been counting on was no longer going to come through, and we have had to make the difficult decision to close down.”
In a Nov. 7 thread on X, TCP’s editor-at-large, Kaiser Kuo, blamed TCP’s “legal costs” on alleged “Sinophobia” in Washington, D.C.
On the political factors, many have understandably focused on American (& esp. DC) sinophobia. Yep, plenty of that, and that’s where the legal costs came in. But just as importantly, Chinese companies and co’s with China exposure were reluctant to sponsor. 5/x
— Kaiser Kuo (@KaiserKuo) November 7, 2023
Kuo’s post also stated that companies with “China exposure” had been “reluctant to sponsor” TCP “due to our coverage on Xinjiang.”
Both Trump and Biden’s administrations have determined that China is committing genocide against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Yet, in the same X thread, Kuo also stated that “China’s Xinjiang policies, while risible, don’t mean that we simply write off the whole nation or even the whole leadership as ‘evil.’”
It’s always been an article of faith with us that given its sheer size and complexity, China’s Xinjiang policies, while risible, don’t mean that we simply write off the whole nation or even the whole leadership as “evil.” 7/x
— Kaiser Kuo (@KaiserKuo) November 7, 2023
In December 2022, the DCNF reported that TCP had partnered with or received financial support from over 20 organizations that may have been led by members of the CCP or CCP influence operations, including the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), which is registered under FARA. Such organizations had also paid as much as $50,000 to sponsor TCP events, the DCNF found.
TCP’s founder, Anla Cheng — who is the “daughter of a Chinese diplomat,” according to state-run China Daily — likewise defended “China’s motives” towards Xinjiang in a 2018 South China Morning Post interview.
“I think the difficulties in perception of China exist in many areas, whether it’s Made in China 2025, whether it’s Belt and Road Initiative, whether it’s South China Sea, whether it’s in Xinjiang,” Cheng told SCMP. “You know, there’s such a gap in perception, and so what I’m hoping is that through culture and arts we can bridge that gap and say that China’s motives may perhaps be misread.”
"We have to do everything we can to make sure that soft power wins over sharp power," says Anla Cheng, trustee of the China Institute. It's the oldest US-based organisation promoting US-China cultural ties. https://t.co/UL6N7TSHHM pic.twitter.com/9ZaVM73XGN
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) November 24, 2018
In October 2022, a former TCP business editor, Shannon Van Sant, delivered a sworn declaration to Congress, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging TCP had fired her in 2020 for being out of “alignment” with the outlet’s alleged pro-CCP bias.
Among her allegations, Van Sant claimed that Goldkorn said the outlet had only begun publishing a regular Xinjiang column to counter the controversy Cheng’s SCMP interview caused.
Van Sant also alleged she’d discovered “links” between TCP and the CCP.
Shortly thereafter, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith called for TCP to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Semafor reported. TCP responded by characterizing Van Sant’s allegations as “baseless,” and TCP’s attorneys subsequently demand that Semafor retract their piece.
Rubio told the DCNF that CCP influence operations are “sophisticated and usually fly under the radar.”
“Increased scrutiny on individuals, groups and propaganda outlets connected to Chinese influence organizations is common sense,” Rubio said.
Van Sant declined to comment.
TCP did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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Philip Lenczycki is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “The China Project Website” by The China Project.
