China Holds U.S.-Wanted Scam Kingpin | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. A Chinese man who ran a major criminal network has been arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China. That's months after being indicted by the U.S. and U.K. What's behind the operation and what happens next? A China analyst breaks it down. Did the U.S. ask Venezuela to cut economic ties with China and Russia? The White House responds. Plus, a look at just how deep China's footprint is Senator Lindsey Graham says President Trump is backing a bill to hit countries like India and China with high tariffs for buying Russian oil. More on that. We take a look at what the U.S. operation in Venezuela signals to China and why analysts say it isn't a playbook for Taiwan. A former U.S. defense attache in Beijing shares his insights. And the State Department and several lawmakers are speaking up against transnational repression. That's after a security guard injured eight protesters outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. The head of a major scam network wanted by the U.S. has been arrested, but not anywhere near U.S. soil. On Wednesday, the head of Prince Group, Chen Zhi, was extradited to China to face serious criminal charges after being arrested in Cambodia. Media reports reveal that his ties to Chinese and Cambodian officials allowed his scam empire to operate unchecked for years, despite harming victims worldwide. To understand what Beijing's move means and how the U.S. might respond, NTD's Flora Hua spoke with Tang Jingyuan, a veteran China affairs analyst, for his insight. China and Cambodia announced that Chen Zhi's arrest is part of their joint operation to combat these scam centers. In my view, the arrest and extradition of Chen Zhi is essentially a show stage by the Chinese Communist Party and Cambodia. This allows China to achieve two goals at once. On the one hand, this is China's attempt to save their diplomatic image globally, claiming that they, too, are cracking down on online fraud. On the other hand, this approach effectively protects Chen Zhi by preventing him from falling into the hands of the United States. Born in China, Chen founded the Prince Group after relocating to Cambodia. Following his recent arrest, Chen's Cambodian citizenship has been revoked as well. Tang added that it is now very difficult for the U.S. government to reach Chen. That's because he remains under the CCP's control and there is no extradition agreement between the two countries. Tang speculates that this may be exactly what China wanted, to prevent the U.S. from further investigating Chen. Chen has connections to the Cambodian regime and authorities. Chen also has very deep connections to the CCP. He is closely linked to the CCP's political and legal apparatus. For these reasons, it is highly unlikely that the CCP would hand Chen Zhi directly over to the United States, because once he arrives, Chen could reveal a great deal of information that would be extremely damaging to the CCP. Last October, the U.S. government sanctioned Chen's business, the Prince Group. It accused the company of operating large online scam centers that use trafficked workers to defraud victims worldwide. According to the DOJ indictment, hundreds of Americans were scammed by Chen's network. U.S. authorities also seized the business's nearly 130,000 bitcoins, worth $15 billion, in their largest ever crypto bust. But before the U.S. took action, Chen was celebrated in Chinese state media as a successful businessman. In Cambodia, he was even appointed as senior advisor to the country's former prime minister. A former Chinese spy who worked for the CCP's top intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, says one of his primary tasks was tracking Chinese dissidents, both at home and abroad. He added that taking action against them when necessary was also part of his role. The spy recently told Radio Canada International that the Chinese regime helped him land a manager role at Prince Group. That role also served as cover for the CCP's covert operations. House, the Trump administration requested that Venezuela reconsider its relationships with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba, including economic ties. Here's the White House's response on Wednesday. Well, those alleged demands were made in a classified briefing by Secretary Rubio, and I know that there's a lot of leaks coming out of these classified briefings, so I'm not going to confirm or deny or get into what the secretary has said in classified settings to members of Congress. But I think that the administration has made it quite clear to the interim authorities in Venezuela that this is the Western Hemisphere, and American dominance is going to continue under this president. Just how deep is China's presence in Latin America? It's currently the region's second largest trading partner, just behind the U.S. China has also embedded itself in many strategic industries in the region. In terms of critical minerals, China has invested heavily in lithium production in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Together, those three countries account for roughly half of the world's lithium, the key resource for electric vehicle production. Beijing has also made huge investments in the region's energy sector. Chinese companies hold near monopoly control over electricity, supplying roughly half of Peru's population. And in Brazil, China's state grid has built an and plans to build more. China has also funded a dozen ports in Latin America that includes two terminals near the Panama Canal, along with three in Mexico and one in Peru. It also has plans for a port in Chile. There's been concerns that these ports could be used for Beijing's military operations. We looked at the western side of Latin America. I'd argue that, you know, in the south, they're building to have the capabilities to receive submarines. In the central Peru, they're looking to have the ability to receive aircraft carriers. And in the north, where I would say, you know, Central America is in the Gulf of Fonseca, they're going to be able to do the capacity for support ships. And this is now an ambition. I don't think this is near complete yet. But I think the idea is that if they're able to eventually break the chain of island nations and get past Guam into the Blue Ocean, they need to have a destination. And to have that destination, they need to build the infrastructure ahead of time. Latin America hosts China's largest space infrastructure presence outside its own borders. That includes a space observation facility in Argentina, along with satellite ground stations in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. U.S. officials are concerned that they can be used to spy on Washington's military. President Trump has greenlit a bill to slap sanctions on countries led by Russian oil, including China and India. That's according to Senator Lindsey Graham. If passed, the bill would authorize Trump to impose up to 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil. The move is aimed at pressuring Moscow to end its war with Ukraine. Following a more than two-week pursuit, U.S. forces on January 7th seized a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker escorted by a Russian submarine in the Atlantic Ocean for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic under a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court. The U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela. The U.S. seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers Wednesday, including the Marinera. The Justice Department is investigating crew members of the Marinera for failing to obey Coast Guard orders. Attorney General Pam Bondi said criminal charges will be pursued against all responsible actors. In response, Russia said the U.S. seizure of its oil tanker is illegal. The Russian foreign ministry has demanded that the American side ensure humane and dignified treatment of Russian crew members. Efforts are underway to stabilize Venezuela after the oust of former dictator Nicolas Maduro. President Trump's plan will play out in three primary phases. NTD's Dana Monaghan breaks it down. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the initial step for Venezuela as a stabilization effort, saying the U.S. can't let the country descend into chaos. In the first phase, he said the U.S. will continue to exercise control over access to Venezuela's oil resources. They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can't move it unless we allow it to move, because we have sanctions, because we're enforcing those sanctions. The second phase will focus on recovery, which Rubio says involves what he calls fair access to the Venezuela market by American and other companies, as well as healing. At the opposition forces can be amnestied and released and from prisons or brought back to the country and begin to rebuild civil society. The plan will ultimately conclude with a transition of power. Where we have tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing and are able to do. But obviously this will be a process of transition. In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country. President Trump yesterday proposed increasing the Pentagon's budget to $1.5 trillion in 2027, a 66% increase, saying it would give the United States its dream military. Trump says the world is going through very troubled and dangerous times. Over to Colombia, President Trump yesterday said he spoke on the phone with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, calling the conversation a great honor and announcing plans for an in-person meeting at the White House. Trump said Petro initiated the call to discuss Colombia's stance on drugs and address other areas of disagreement between the two countries. The friendly tone is a change from earlier in the week when Trump criticized the nation over its role in the illegal drug trade. Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you. The president seemed open to taking action. He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories. He's not going to be doing it very long. So there will be an operation by the U.S. It sounds good to me. Petro said yesterday that Trump pulled back on his tone during a conversation that lasted roughly an hour. He said he had invited Trump for a private meeting, but instead the pair decided to hold talks in Washington. In regard to this personal conversation, we shouldn't put our guard down. We still have to talk at the White House. The sudden detente revealed that Petro and Trump share a key characteristic, an apparent willingness to negotiate with an adversary if deemed to be in their country's best interest. For Colombia, the U.S. remains critical for the military's fight against leftist guerrillas. For the U.S., Colombia is the main source of intelligence used to interdict drugs in the Caribbean. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. The United States could be dealing with Venezuela for an extensive period of time. President Trump was asked by the New York Times how long the administration would demand direct oversight of the nation. Trump didn't give a definitive answer, replying, quote, only time will tell. When the Times questioned if it could take a year or longer, Trump said, quote, I would say much longer. During the nearly two-hour sit-down, Trump said the rebuilding process will be profitable and will include the taking of oil. President Trump's decision to strike Venezuela and capture the dictator Nicolas Maduro has sparked debate among foreign policy experts. They're drawing parallels over what it could mean for China in regards to a Taiwan invasion. Some analysts question whether Beijing might see the move as a model. But others speculate that the recent U.S. operation won't be China's playbook to advance on Taiwan. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the most fundamental reason China hasn't moved on Taiwan is due to a lack of confidence militarily. Analysts say Washington's Venezuelan operation differs from Beijing's goal. Though President Trump said the U.S. would run Venezuela for a time after capturing its dictator, taking permanent control is not part of the plan. By comparison, China claims the Taiwan issue is an internal matter. Beijing's goal is to remove Taiwan's democratic leadership and govern the island indefinitely. Meanwhile, the U.S. has said it will support Taiwan if doing so serves a vital national interest. U.S. allies say they will continue supporting Washington in the Taiwan Strait, both to defend themselves and to maintain regional balance of power. Beijing has been updating its assessment of both the U.S. military capabilities and Trump's willingness to deploy them. For now, analysts believe Beijing will stay patient, especially if it sees Washington's actions in Venezuela as a distraction rather than a long-term strategic gain. Despite fielding advanced Chinese-made JY-27 anti-stealth radars, Venezuela's air defense network was knocked out early in the U.S. operation. Washington's electronic warfare aircraft jammed radar coverage, allowing U.S. stealth fighters to strike undetected. A military observer wrote on X saying U.S. forces proved Chinese technology useless. He noted that Venezuela had purchased nine advanced radars from China, and they all failed to detect Washington's F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. China analysts say at least 23 countries operate Chinese-made air defense radars, with occasional reports raising questions about their reliability. Following the recent strike in Venezuela, some say Beijing's manufacturers may be falling behind in this sector. But does the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela signal to China, and why analysts say it's not a playbook for Taiwan? We spoke with retired Air Force Brigadier General David Stilwell, former U.S. defense attache in Beijing, about the impact of the U.S. operation in Venezuela, particularly the failure of Chinese-made military radars during the raid. Stilwell noted that it sends a clear message to China, emphasizing U.S. readiness to act when necessary. General Stilwell, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Good to be back. So now there's reporting that perhaps Chinese-made military radars failed Venezuela during that raid. What is your reaction to that? Well, very positive in that there are definitely echoes of the 2017 Mar-a-Lago dinner with Xi Jinping that was designed to be at the same time we took out Syrian airfield that had discounted its own people, following through with the Obama threat, that if you do that, there will be a response. Telling the PRC that there's a new sheriff in town and that we will take action, we're not afraid to take action, we're going to go beyond talking points and actually do something. This is another example of that. I have no doubt that the timing of the Chinese delegation had something or at least was considered as part of this. And it's masterful in letting them know that you're in our neighborhood. Call it Monroe Doctrine, call it imperialism. I mean, you can think of all sorts of negative terms for this, but the fact is, like Panama, the U.S. has specific interests in the region. The Maduro and Hugo Chavez regime before that were barbaric. We don't like to see people abused and we're going to take action to prevent that. Where is the downside to that? I mean, if you look at the people in New York City, the Venezuelans, the expats, the people who fled that regime, and they're thrilled that they may get a new lease on life and a chance to live what we consider a normal life. And the last thing is, you know, American activities are often characterized as imperialist, which would then mean you're beggaring the people, you're stealing from them so the rich proper barons get their fortunes. But the exact opposite is true. While the U.S. was working with Venezuela as a friend, there was lots of investment, there was oil industry set up and all that stuff. And it wasn't until the communist socialist came in that they destroyed the prosperity that was there. Now, that whole narrative gets flipped on its head. The cooperation with the U.S. was beneficial. Since then, cooperation with Russia and China has been very detrimental. As the former defense attaché in Beijing, how do you think China is viewing Operation Absolute Resolve? With great respect. I don't know about the leadership in Zhongnanhai, but I know that the military folks I dealt with needed to be reminded from time to time that as much as your propaganda tells you that you are on par with or better than the U.S. military, the facts are clear that there's no way the PLA could have pulled off something like this. And so, I just go back to the—remember a couple of months ago, the PLA Navy ship and a PLA Coast Guard ship collided, simply trying to intercept a small Filipino banker boat, a Coast Guard boat. And these two couldn't manage to stand on each other's way and crashed into each other. So, you have that message, especially Xi Jinping on the one side saying the PLA probably isn't as good as they claim to be. At the same time, the U.S. continues to remind them that we are varied in what we do on the military side. So, is this a deterrent message? Absolutely. I think the PRC now is going to think twice about its threatening behavior in the region, Taiwan, Japan, for sure, South China Sea, Philippines, etc. So, overall, a lot of people are going to find downsides to it. I thought it was a win-win. General Stilwell, as always, thank you so much for joining us. Nice to see you. The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties. 31 entities were tied to the United Nations, while the remaining 35 were not. The White House says they go against the country's interests. The State Department says the Trump administration found the institutions to be redundant, wasteful, and poorly run. It also accused them of being captured by foreign interests or a threat to the nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused many entities of being dominated by progressive ideology and attached from national interests. Rubio says many international organizations now serve a globalist project rooted in the, quote, discredited fantasy of the end of history. He mentioned DEI mandates, gender equity campaigns, and what he called climate orthodoxy. The Commerce Department reports that the U.S. trade deficit dropped in October to its lowest level since 2009. Data shows the goods and services trade gap narrowed by 39 percent from September to $29.4 billion. Imports into the U.S. fell 3.2 percent to $331 billion in October, with export jumping to $302 billion. Goods imports dropped 4.5 percent to $255 billion, the lowest level since June 2023. Imports of industrial supplies dropped $2.7 billion, the lowest level since February 2021. Exports rose 2.6 percent to a record $302 billion. Goods exports jumped 3.8 percent to $195.9 billion, an all-time high. Separate polls of economists and analysts by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal had predicted a $58 billion deficit. Coming up, the U.S. State Department and several lawmakers are speaking out against transnational repression after a security guard injured eight protesters outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Lawmakers and the State Department say they are alarmed by a recent incident that infringed on constitutional rights here in the U.S. That comes after reports that a private security guard hired by the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles used pepper spray on pro-democracy protesters. The State Department says it's closely following the development of the incident. A State Department spokesperson responded to NTD sister media, The Epoch Times, in a statement on Wednesday. They added that, quote, the right to peaceably assemble is guaranteed by the First Amendment of our Constitution. The repression of the exercise of this fundamental freedom will not be tolerated in the United States of America. Several lawmakers called such behavior extremely concerning. Take a listen. Absolutely unacceptable. I'm trying to inhibit the freedom of speech. No way, shape or form is that acceptable in any way. And I hope, you know, the hammer is brought down on them. Ever since Tiananmen Square, we've known that China will use techniques that are unacceptable. And it doesn't surprise me that even in the United States, China would do that. We believe that there is freedom of speech here in America. We don't always have to agree, but we need to be respectful to each other and to our differing thoughts. Obviously, that's extremely concerning if you're seeing, you know, force used against people who are peacefully protesting, especially protesting in favor of democracy. And if it involves foreign elements, that's even more concerning. Congressman John Lennar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said his panel strongly condemns the transnational repression and coercive tactics employed by the Chinese Communist Party. He added these tactics are used to silence critics and intimidate dissidents beyond its borders. Lennar emphasized that peaceful protest and free expression are protected by the Constitution. He said those protections apply to all people lawfully assembly in public spaces in the United States, including outside foreign diplomatic facilities. According to the local law enforcement website, the security guard was released by court order on Monday on a $0 bail. He was arrested on Sunday after injuring at least eight people outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. Insider sources disclosed his aggression as part of a Beijing orchestrated transnational suppression across the U.S. There will be a little less traffic in outer space on Thursday. NASA has postponed a scheduled spacewalk due to a quote medical concern. Officials wouldn't give more information about the matter. Astronauts Mike Fink and Xena Cartman were set to exit an international space station airlock to finish work on a power channel. No word yet on when the spacewalk will be rescheduled. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusandntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.