Chinese government documents identify a Shanghai kindergarten supported by former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s family as a platform for Communist Party outreach, with United Front organizations openly celebrating their longstanding relationship with the family of former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

WASHINGTON — Chinese Communist Party organizations used a Shanghai kindergarten named after former U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s grandfather to maintain relationships with her family for more than a decade, according to an investigation of Chinese government records that raises questions about Beijing’s efforts to cultivate connections with influential American political figures.

The investigation, published Monday, Oct. 12, by the Daily Caller News Foundation, identifies a formal partnership between the kindergarten and a Chinese political organization operating within the Communist Party’s United Front system. Chinese government and state-media reports describe repeated visits by Chao, her father and other relatives, including meetings with Communist Party officials and representatives of organizations responsible for maintaining relationships with overseas Chinese communities.

The documents indicate that Chinese officials regarded their connections to the Chao family as an important achievement in overseas political outreach. One 2019 government report identified the relationship as a leading accomplishment of a local United Front organization, using the phrase “Small Pairing, Big Politics” to describe a strategy combining community relationships with broader political objectives.

Chao, who served as labor secretary under President George W. Bush and transportation secretary during President Donald Trump’s first administration, is married to Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader. Her family’s longstanding educational philanthropy in Shanghai provided opportunities for contact with Chinese officials during periods when she held senior positions in the United States government.

Her spokesperson strongly rejected suggestions that she participated in Chinese influence operations or knowingly maintained positions within organizations connected to the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party responsible for political outreach and relationship-building.

The allegations emerge from Chinese-language government publications, school announcements and state-media accounts documenting activities at Shanghai’s Malu Yiren Kindergarten. The records describe a partnership between the school and the Jiading branch of the China Zhi Gong Party, one of eight legally recognized minor political parties operating under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

According to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s investigation of the Chao family’s relationship with the kindergarten, the partnership created recurring opportunities for local Communist Party and United Front officials to interact with the family through ceremonies, educational events and commemorations honoring Chao’s relatives.

The latest documented visit occurred June 14, 2026, when Chao attended a graduation ceremony at the Shanghai school. Students performed a historical production commemorating the Chinese Communist military’s Long March, including a scene depicting the death of a young Red Army soldier from starvation.

The performance presented a dramatized account of the Communist movement’s military history before returning to the school’s graduation activities. Hours after the event, McConnell was hospitalized in the United States, according to the investigation.

The appearance was one of numerous visits Chao has made to the school over several decades, often alongside members of her family and local Chinese officials.

The kindergarten’s connection to the Chao family predates the United Front partnership.

In 1995, Chao’s father, James S.C. Chao, founder of the shipping company Foremost Group, donated $100,000 to Malu Central Kindergarten in Shanghai’s Jiading district.

The school was subsequently renamed Malu Yiren Kindergarten in honor of his father, Zhao Yiren, who had served as a primary school principal in Jiading and advocated education as a means of strengthening China.

The elder Zhao’s educational philosophy emphasized “saving the nation through education,” a concept that became central to the school’s identity and the family’s charitable involvement.

James Chao continued supporting the institution financially, while Elaine Chao and other relatives periodically returned for school ceremonies, educational programs and commemorative events.

That established philanthropic relationship later became the basis for cooperation involving the local branch of the China Zhi Gong Party.

In November 2014, the school and the Jiading Zhi Gong organization signed a formal “co-construction” agreement, a Chinese institutional arrangement intended to promote cooperation and joint activities.

The signing ceremony was attended by an official from the district’s United Front Work Department, who reportedly expressed hope that the partnership would produce a “triple-win” benefiting the political organization, the kindergarten and United Front activities.

The agreement formalized a relationship that placed the Zhi Gong branch within the school’s institutional operations.

Chinese government reports described the organization as participating in educational events, commemorative activities and programs involving the Chao family.

The arrangement also included creation of a new school anthem, “Yiren One Family,” composed by the local Zhi Gong branch and named in recognition of Chao’s grandfather.

Just six days after the agreement was signed, Elaine Chao visited the kindergarten on Nov. 13, 2014, accompanied by Communist Party and Zhi Gong officials.

Students performed the newly composed school anthem for her during the visit, while representatives of the participating organizations accompanied her around the campus.

Among the officials present was Jiading’s United Front Work Department minister, who also headed a local branch of the China Overseas Friendship Association.

That organization is part of a broader network of institutions associated with United Front activities aimed at maintaining relationships with overseas Chinese individuals and communities.

The same official also supervised the district’s activities involving the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, another organization associated with the Communist Party’s overseas outreach system.

Chinese government reports previously identified Chao as holding advisory or committee positions connected to those organizations.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that Chao had been associated with at least four Chinese government-related positions since 2008, including a municipal advisory role in Wuhan and positions involving the China Overseas Friendship Association and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Some of the reported positions overlapped with periods when Chao served in senior federal office.

Those claims have been disputed by Chao’s representatives, who reject the characterization that she held a position within a foreign government.

Patrick O’Connor, speaking on Chao’s behalf, denied that she “held a position with a foreign government” and said, “[w]e are not aware she has met with representatives of UFWD entities.”

The spokesperson maintained that describing her educational and charitable activities as involvement in a foreign influence effort misrepresented her intentions and professional record.

“Such a suggestion disregards her nearly five decades of faithful service to the United States and is both unfounded and deeply insulting, hurtful and racist,” O’Connor said.

His response was provided after investigators presented photographs reportedly showing Chao with Communist Party and United Front-affiliated officials.

O’Connor also explained that the family’s involvement with the kindergarten arose from a longstanding commitment to education rather than political activity.

“Education has always been a primary focus for the family and its philanthropy. The secretary regularly visits schools in the U.S. and abroad,” O’Connor said.

He added that Chao’s father had supported the institution for decades and that she attended events to recognize the family’s history.

“This kindergarten is named after Dr. Chao’s father, and he has supported it for nearly four decades. The secretary was there to honor her father’s connection to the school, which is recognized as one of the best kindergartens in the region.”

The family’s philanthropic history is well documented in Chinese accounts of the kindergarten’s development.

However, those same records indicate that officials associated with the United Front system considered maintaining contact with the family a political and organizational priority.

That distinction forms the central issue raised by the investigation: Chinese authorities may pursue strategic advantages through relationships that American participants regard primarily as cultural, familial or charitable.

United Front activities have been examined extensively by American security analysts, who describe them as part of Beijing’s effort to build relationships with influential individuals and organizations outside China.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s examination of overseas United Front operations describes the system as a network of Communist Party institutions that seek to shape political attitudes, cultivate influential contacts and advance Beijing’s interests internationally.

The commission has identified foreign policy influence and efforts to “gain access to advanced foreign technology” among the objectives associated with China’s broader influence activities.

United Front operations can involve business leaders, academics, community organizations, cultural associations and individuals with access to political institutions.

Such relationships are not necessarily established through clandestine activity. They can develop through public events, business exchanges, educational programs and relationships involving families with connections to China.

American counterintelligence officials and congressional investigators have warned that these contacts can provide opportunities for foreign governments to influence policy discussions or obtain access to individuals connected to political decision-making.

The commission has recommended additional measures to help American organizations identify possible relationships between Chinese institutions and the Communist Party’s intelligence, security and United Front structures.

The Chao family’s relationship with the kindergarten provides an example of how personal history and educational philanthropy can intersect with official Chinese outreach programs.

In October 2015, Elaine Chao returned to the school with her father and sister Angela Chao to commemorate the kindergarten’s 20th anniversary.

The family presented a donation of $161,290 and participated in a ceremony unveiling a statue honoring Zhao Yiren.

Local Communist Party and United Front officials attended the event, which Chinese government accounts described as a celebration of the family’s contributions to education.

During the visit, Elaine Chao spoke about her parents’ efforts to preserve their family’s cultural background after moving to the United States.

“Although we sisters grew up in the U.S., our parents often reminded us: we are still Chinese,” Chao told Chinese state media.

Her remarks reflected the family’s connection to its heritage, but Chinese government documents published afterward indicate that local United Front officials viewed similar sentiments as opportunities for developing overseas relationships.

In January 2016, Jiading’s United Front Work Department issued a report discussing its efforts to maintain contact with individuals living outside China.

The document identified family relationships, shared hometown connections and longstanding friendships as important mechanisms for building international networks.

“Particular emphasis was placed on using ‘sentiments of kinship, hometown and friendship’ as bonds to conduct overseas friendship work through multiple channels, levels and forms,” the report stated.

The document also referred to Chao among overseas individuals who had been invited to Jiading to reconnect with relatives and discuss “joint development.”

Those statements demonstrate that the local United Front organization had established an explicit strategy for cultivating relationships through personal and cultural connections.

They do not independently establish that Chao agreed to advance Chinese government objectives or that the outreach affected American policy.

Nevertheless, the reports provide evidence that Chinese officials regarded those connections as useful to their broader overseas activities.

The family’s next documented return occurred in October 2016, when Elaine Chao and her father again visited the kindergarten.

Chinese government accounts described a reception involving local Communist Party officials and representatives of the United Front and Zhi Gong organizations.

Students welcomed the visitors with affectionate titles, addressing Elaine Chao as “Momma Xiaolan” and her father as “Grandpa Xicheng,” using their Chinese names.

The visit included tours of facilities commemorating the Chao family, including a memorial area honoring her grandfather and a garden dedicated to her late mother.

A separate Zhi Gong report indicated that the political organization had begun organizing additional school activities with the family’s approval.

The nature and extent of those activities were not fully detailed in the available accounts.

By 2019, the partnership had become a point of pride for the local Zhi Gong branch.

That July, Jiading’s organization received recognition for its work maintaining relationships with overseas individuals.

An accompanying United Front report identified two accomplishments as particularly important: “maintaining long-term ties with Zhao Xiaolan’s family” and continuing its cooperation with the kindergarten.

The recognition was accompanied by the phrase “Small Pairing, Big Politics,” emphasizing the strategic value officials associated with an otherwise modest institutional partnership.

The characterization suggests that local Chinese authorities considered the school relationship more significant than ordinary educational cooperation.

The kindergarten also became a venue for activities celebrating Chinese Communist military history and patriotic themes.

During its June 2019 graduation ceremony, children dressed in camouflage performed “Little Navy Sailor,” a song portraying a young sailor defending China against an enemy.

“I am a little navy sailor, piloting a small gunboat,” the song begins. “If the enemy dares to invade — boom, boom, boom — we blast them to the ocean floor!”

Other performances included “Song of the Red Star,” a patriotic composition associated with Chinese Communist revolutionary history, as well as the kindergarten’s Zhi Gong-composed anthem.

Photographs from the ceremony showed children wearing military-style clothing and using their fingers to imitate pistols while performing.

The investigation identified additional military-themed activities at the school, including events involving People’s Liberation Army personnel.

In September 2025, the kindergarten organized activities for children as young as infancy through age three involving simulated military exercises.

School descriptions referred to participants as “little soldiers” and identified games including “Dodging Bombs,” “Advancing Tanks,” “Gunfight Game,” “Breaking Through The Blockade,” and “Carrying Stretchers.”

Photographs reportedly showed children carrying toy rifles and grenades during the activities.

Such events reflect military and patriotic themes incorporated into the school’s programming. They do not establish that the kindergarten provides actual military training or recruits children for the armed forces.

The Daily Caller News Foundation characterized the activities as evidence of the school’s connections to China’s military and political institutions.

Its investigation did not establish that Chao organized or endorsed individual military-themed activities or that her family directed the curriculum.

The school continued hosting commemorative events involving the Chao family through June 2026, when students presented a theatrical production based on the Long March.

The historical campaign, conducted during the 1930s, remains central to Chinese Communist Party narratives about its origins and the sacrifices made by early revolutionary forces.

The kindergarten’s performance included a scene depicting a young soldier who died from starvation in a marsh, followed by fellow soldiers pausing to mourn before continuing their journey.

Chao attended the graduation, according to the Chinese records examined by investigators.

Her presence at the event renewed attention to the family’s continuing relationship with the school and the officials associated with it.

The investigation also prompted responses from intelligence specialists who emphasized the importance of understanding how relationship-building can function within China’s foreign influence activities.

Ina Mitchell, a specialist in Chinese intelligence, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that United Front operations frequently focus on individuals with access to influential political families.

“Counterintelligence experts have long-warned that the UFWD seeks to cultivate relationships with political families and that they will use relationship conduits to gain access and influence outside of normal government channels,” Mitchell said.

She added that relationships involving spouses of elected officials warrant consideration even when the individuals themselves do not hold government office.

“Even though the spouse of a sitting senator is considered a private citizen, such an intimate connection — especially where the partner has significant influence over policy affecting China — raises legitimate questions about access, intent, disclosure and whether such contacts could indirectly shape or be perceived as shaping U.S. policy.”

The warning concerns potential access and influence rather than proof that a particular relationship resulted in unauthorized information sharing or changes to government decisions.

Chao’s professional background has included two Cabinet positions and extensive involvement in American public service.

She served as secretary of labor from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush and as transportation secretary from 2017 until her resignation in January 2021.

Her husband, McConnell, served as Senate Republican leader for nearly two decades and exercised substantial influence over federal legislation, judicial confirmations and American foreign policy.

Those positions made the family politically prominent, particularly during periods of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

China’s approach to cultivating influential foreign contacts has attracted attention because relationships with family members, former officials and private organizations can exist outside formal diplomatic channels.

Scott McGregor, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police intelligence official who specializes in Chinese influence operations, said the United Front system seeks relationships with people who possess resources, access or social standing.

“The broader United Front model works by identifying people with status, access, resources, expertise or influence and incorporating them into a relationship structure,” McGregor said.

He emphasized that people participating in such relationships may understand their involvement differently from the Chinese organizations cultivating them.

“Those individuals may be business leaders, academics, community representatives, former officials or political figures. Some may knowingly support CCP objectives; others may regard their participation as cultural, commercial or ceremonial. The strategic value to Beijing may exist regardless of the individual’s subjective intent.”

That distinction is particularly relevant to the Chao family’s response, which emphasizes its charitable activities and denies foreign government affiliation.

The findings also attracted criticism from geopolitical analyst Brandon Weichert, author of The Weichert Brief, who argued that China’s overseas outreach operations have developed into a significant challenge for American political institutions.

“After more than 40 years of such operations, which have even influenced educational institutions in the U.S., it is clear that the United States has been completely outmaneuvered and overrun by the Chinese narrative,” Weichert told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

He characterized the Chao family’s documented relationships as an example of the scale of China’s broader influence efforts.

“That even people like the wife of former Republican Party Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a former cabinet member herself, has become the face of a quiet campaign to influence the hearts and minds shows you how prolific — and profligate — the Chinese campaign has been.”

Weichert offered an even broader assessment of China’s international ambitions.

“We are on the slow, but steady path of being absorbed in China’s new empire without so much as any understanding that this is underway,” he warned.

Those assessments represent the experts’ interpretations of Chinese influence activities. The Chinese records examined in the investigation provide evidence of organized relationship-building, but they do not independently establish that American government decisions were influenced by the kindergarten partnership.

The available reporting also does not identify classified information obtained through the relationship, unauthorized transfers of technology or specific policy decisions altered as a result of the family’s contacts.

The allegations therefore center on the intentions and activities of Chinese Communist Party organizations rather than a demonstrated criminal offense involving Chao or her relatives.

The kindergarten’s role nevertheless illustrates a characteristic feature of United Front outreach: institutions with ordinary cultural or social functions can also serve as locations for cultivating relationships considered valuable by political organizations.

For the Chao family, the school represents a decades-long philanthropic commitment honoring a relative’s educational legacy.

For Jiading’s United Front and Zhi Gong officials, government publications describe the same relationship as a successful example of overseas liaison work.

Those differing perspectives are central to the dispute.

The investigation’s Chinese-language records indicate that Communist Party-affiliated organizations deliberately incorporated the family’s visits into their relationship-building activities. Chao’s representatives maintain that her participation was charitable and familial, not political.

Whether the reported advisory designations involved Chao’s informed acceptance, ceremonial recognition or another arrangement remains disputed.

The broader question of how U.S. officials and their relatives should handle contact with foreign political organizations also remains unresolved by the available evidence.

China’s United Front system has received increasing scrutiny from American lawmakers and security agencies because of its efforts to establish connections through educational institutions, cultural exchanges, community associations and business relationships.

However, such contacts must be assessed according to their specific circumstances. Attendance at a cultural event, participation in philanthropy or personal connections to Chinese heritage do not independently demonstrate improper foreign influence.

The newly examined records establish a more specific finding: local Chinese Communist Party and United Front-affiliated officials publicly described their relationship with the Chao family as part of their overseas outreach efforts and repeatedly used a family-supported kindergarten to maintain those contacts.

The documentary record stretches from the school’s philanthropic beginnings in 1995 through formal political cooperation established in 2014, recurring visits during the following years and Chao’s attendance at a graduation ceremony in June 2026.

It also includes explicit statements from Chinese officials celebrating the family’s relationship as an accomplishment of United Front work.

Chao’s spokesperson disputes the suggestion that those activities amount to participation in a foreign political operation and points to her longstanding record of service to the United States.

The investigation leaves unresolved how much the family knew about the political objectives assigned to the kindergarten partnership by Chinese officials and whether any resulting contacts extended beyond public, ceremonial and charitable activities.

What the records demonstrate is that the Chinese organizations involved attached political significance to a relationship the Chao family says was rooted in education and family history, illustrating how Beijing’s overseas outreach efforts can intersect with the personal lives of prominent American political figures.

Original article