For the second time this week, President Trump fielded a question during his daily press briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from a reporter with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
On Thursday, Trump called on reporter Ching-Yi Chang, asking him, “Where are you from?”
The reporter answered, “Taiwan.”
Given Taiwan’s split with mainland China, the president, who was asking what media outlet he was with, replied: “Good.”
But it turns out there’s more to the story and that Chang appears to have misled President Trump, according to The National Pulse editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam.
“He was *born* in Taiwan,” Kassam said in a tweet. “But he *works* for Chinese state owned Shanghai Media Group – a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party.”
”Reporter” Ching-Yi Chang, told @realDonaldTrump he is from Taiwan yesterday in the White House.
He was *born* in Taiwan.
But he *works* for Chinese state owned Shanghai Media Group – a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party.
More here: https://t.co/nzHgaU3EpU pic.twitter.com/V8B3946EOb
— Raheem Kassam 😷 (@RaheemKassam) April 9, 2020
As Kassam noted in an accompanying article, Chang identifies himself on Facebook as a “Chinese media reporter.” More information is provided to support the notion.
On Monday, Trump pressed a reporter about whether she worked for China after she asked a question about medical supplies that Beijing has provided the United States.
“Who are you working for, China?” Trump asked. “Do you work for China? Or are you with a newspaper? Who are you with?”
The reporter said she works for Phoenix TV.
“Who owns that, China? Is it owned by China? Is it owned by the state?” Trump asked.
“It’s a private-owned company,” she replied.
Phoenix TV is not wholly-owned by the Chinese government, but its content is seen as sympathetic to Beijing, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation, which said the Hoover Institution regards it as a “quasi-official” news outlet with links to the Chinese government’s ministry of state security.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas-R, went much further in a series of tweets shared Tuesday.
“Phoenix TV has been waging information warfare in the US for yrs,” the senator said in a tweet. “They are nominally private but actually state owned. In 2018 I led [the] effort to block them from using cutouts to spread propaganda. MSM should NEVER have given them [a] seat at WH press conference.”
Phoenix TV has been waging information warfare in the US for yrs. They are nominally private but actually state owned. In 2018 I led effort to block them from using cutouts to spread propaganda. MSM should NEVER have given them seat at WH press conference. https://t.co/JswOrAwb8X
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 7, 2020
The thread concluded: “So to recap, the WH Correspondents Assoc gave a seat at the WH press briefing to an employee of the Chinese Communist govt, to ask globally televised Qs to POTUS, at the same time China is waging a propaganda campaign to hide their culpability & coverup of the Wuhan virus?!?”
8/x So to recap, the WH Correspondents Assoc gave a seat at the WH press briefing to an employee of the Chinese Communist govt, to ask globally televised Qs to POTUS, at the same time China is waging a propaganda campaign to hide their culpability & coverup of the Wuhan virus?!? pic.twitter.com/lJYjdqqEFe
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 7, 2020
For the record, the White House Correspondents Association handles credentialing and access to the president, as well as physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms.
ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl, who got into a tiff with Trump this week, is the current rotating head of the WHCA.
https://twitter.com/MichaelCoudrey/status/1248301626617552897?s=20
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
@Jonkarl is the head of the WHCA, he is the one who is letting them in.
— Richard Andreas (@RichardJAndreas) April 9, 2020
This is scary.
What if #CCP sends some one infected to such press meets?Most of the countries have stopped doing such pressors.
— Rahul (@HeuvelTop) April 9, 2020
Maybe we could trade?
— Northern Guy⚡ (@RedPill_Resolve) April 10, 2020
And yet they tried (unsuccessfully) to ban and censor oann
— Jake49er (@Minepebble1) April 9, 2020
The WHCA is headed by Karl from #abcnews.
Guess they’re trying to intimidate the President by approving this one, and the other one from earlier in the week.— Bill Waterbury (@billdubs) April 9, 2020
The White House should block these people if the WHCA can’t or won’t do what they should be doing.
— M (@fnfray) April 9, 2020
@realDonaldTrump Please keep the #CCP Propaganda reporters out of our White House.
— June (@EJuneBayne) April 9, 2020
Again, and repeating. Why is White House Security not more rigorous in checking credentials? This is insane!!!
— Shertc2K (@collura_sherry) April 9, 2020
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