A Rockefeller family nonprofit is sending millions in cash to China-based entities, many of which have strong ties to China's communist government.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) identifies China as a "pivotal place" for grantmaking opportunities. As part of their investments, the Rockefellers fund numerous environmental groups in the region that are linked to Chinese Communist Party members or bolster multibillion-dollar government initiatives that critics say are trapping countries in debt spirals.
"With innovative government policy, a vibrant marketplace, and growing public participation, China has the potential to lead the world in sustainable approaches to development," the group's 2019 tax forms state. The RBF established its China-focused grantmaking program in 2005 to assist efforts "by engaging with and fostering collaborations among the government, business, civil society, and academia."
According to a review of the group’s most recent tax forms, RBF devoted $750,000 to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, which has a "direct channel" to China's State Council, the highest administrative authority of the Chinese government. It ischaired by high-ranking CCP official Han Zheng, the vice-premier of the State Council. In addition, the foundation donated $100,000 each to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, both of which are controlled by the Chinese government.
The RBF has also awarded thousands of dollars to nonprofit groups that are led by Chinese Communist Party members and ex-government officials. Nearly $400,000 went to the China Environmental Protection Foundation, a nominally independent nonprofit that is spearheaded by senior Chinese Communist Party members. The foundation also gave $600,000 to the Guangdong Harmony Foundation, another CCP-linked nonprofit.
The Belt and Road Initiative has faced its fair share of controversy, including accusations that the infrastructure projects saddle developing countries with huge debts that leave them beholden to Chinese creditors. Sri Lanka had to give up a port on its island to China after the former defaulted on its debt, giving China a crucial maritime base in the Indo-Pacific. Belt and Road projects have also caused environmental destruction that should be anathema to the green-minded Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Analysts said the projects have led to an "environmental disaster" in South East Asia, the region that receives the bulk of Belt and Road funding.
U.S. Charges MIT Professor With Grant Fraud Over Hidden Chinese Ties
Nate Raymond
A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in nanotechnology research was arrested on U.S. charges that he failed to disclose his ties to the Chinese government when seeking federal grant money.
Federal prosecutors in Boston on Thursday charged Gang Chen, a Chinese-born mechanical engineer and nanotechnologist, with defrauding the U.S. Department of Energy when seeking grants and failing to disclose a foreign bank account on a tax return.
Following his arrest, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants at his home in Cambridge and office at MIT, where he is the director of the MIT Pappalardo Micro/Nano Engineering Laboratory.
Chen was later released on bail. MIT in a statement said it was "deeply distressed" by the arrest. Chen’s attorney, Robert Fisher, said the 56-year-old "loves the United States and looks forward to vigorously defending these allegations."
The case is the latest to emerge from a U.S. Justice Department crackdown on Chinese influence within universities amid concerns about spying and intellectual property theft by the Chinese government.
Of the FBI’s 5,000 active counter-intelligence investigations, nearly half are China-related, said Joseph Bonavolonta, who oversees the agency’s Boston field office.
Prosecutors said Chen was involved in various efforts to promote China’s technological and scientific development, including acting as an "overseas expert" for the Chinese government at the request of its New York consulate.
Prosecutors said he received money from various Chinese entities and helped review and assess grant applications for the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC), which operates similarly to U.S. grant-funding agencies.
But prosecutors said he never disclosed his work for the NNSFC or other Chinese affiliations when he applied for Energy Department grants.
Since 2013, various federal agencies have awarded more than $19 million in grants to fund Chen’s research, prosecutors said.
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