Congressional Committee Chair Pledges Action On CCP’s Massive US Land Purchases

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who serves as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), stressed his commitment to tackle the issue of CCP land purchases in the U.S. on Fox Business Sunday following the Daily Caller News Foundation’s report on them.

Chen Tianqiao, the founder, chairman and CEO of global investment firm Shanda Group, owns approximately 200,000 acres of land in Oregon and is the second-largest foreign landowner in the U.S. as well as a CCP member, the DCNF reported on Thursday. “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartriromo brought up the DCNF report and Gallagher committed to solving the issue immediately.

“Now we understand that the second largest owner of land — foreign owner of land — is a CCP member. The head of the Shanda group owns 200,000 acres in Oregon,” Bartiromo stated.

“When it comes to land purchases, this is absolutely something that we can fix in Congress right now,” Gallagher responded. “I have a bipartisan bill that would fix this. The time for action is now. We cannot waste the next year when it comes to legislating on critical issues like preventing CCP land purchases near military bases.”

Chen has expansive links to the Chinese government, ranging from CCP membership to executive roles in CCP-affiliated organizations, according to a DCNF review of Chinese-language media reports.

Chen purchased 198,000 acres of land in Oregon in 2015 for $85 million, according to Land Report. The acquisition made the Chinese national the 82nd-largest property owner in the U.S. and the second-largest foreign U.S. land owner, Bloomberg reported, trailing only a Canadian family who possesses more than 1 million acres in Maine.