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Simon Bridges, still currently under investigation by the SFO for his whiffy Chinese donations, has been really rather chummy with some Chinese spies it has been revealed.
Simon Bridges’ controversial China visit was organised by Jian Yang, the National MP who admitted to training Chinese spies, official emails show.
Bridges was criticised for praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in an interview on Chinese state television during the five-day trip in September.
He also came under scrutiny for meeting the person in charge of the country’s secret police, at a time when the CCP was detaining more than a million Uighur Muslims.
Correspondence released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) under the Official Information Act showed National MP Jian Yang put together the trip’s itinerary.
It looks like Bridges belief that “one Chinese is worth more than two Indians” is really being proven.
In late August, Yang emailed National Party staff with the itinerary he put together for Bridges and said: “I’m rather pleased with it”.
I bet he was.
A member of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25-man Politburo would meet the delegation “although we do not know who that person is”, Yang said in the email.
That person turned out to be Guo Shengkun, the head of the CCP’s secret police.
Bridges’ visit drew international attention from China watchers and journalists.
The Asia editor of the Financial Times, Jamil Anderlini, tweeted: “Why is the leader of New Zealand’s biggest opposition party meeting with the head of China’s secret police? And why is he in Beijing with a New Zealand member of parliament who spent 15 years working for Chinese military intelligence?”
Very good points, why was Simon Bridges cozying up to the head of China’s secret police?
Yang and Bridges also arranged to travel together in the same car between events on their programme, emails show. Gerry Brownlee, National’s spokesperson for GCSB, NZSIS and foreign affairs, was also on the trip.
In late August, nine days before Bridges and Brownlee were due to touch down in China, they hadn’t asked for any assistance from MFAT.
“I’ve asked for copies of [Bridges’] programmes; offered in person briefings by senior MFAT officials; and indicated the extent of assistance MFAT can provide three times now,” an MFAT staff member wrote to other staff.
“I’m not inclined to offer again, but perhaps we will see a last minute scramble of requests.”
A colleague responded: “I agree you have done more than enough in terms of making it clear we stand ready to assist.”
The following day, an MFAT staffer emailed David Mahon, a Kiwi businessman based in Beijing, and Andrew Robinson, New Zealand’s Consul-General to Shanghai, saying they had the green light to “co-organise” the trip.
Yang then emailed his itinerary to National staff and it was forwarded to Hope and Robinson.
National announced in August that Yang would accompany Bridges and Brownlee to China, but the party never revealed Yang was organising the trip.
Bridges did not respond to a request for comment.
Stuff
I bet he didn’t. It’s holiday time and Natalie wouldn’t have let him respond, nor would he have been able to get hold of Todd McClay to do the thinking for him.
Whilst it is rather strange that Bridges would cosy up to Chinese secret police, and there doesn’t really seem to be a reason for such a trip, it is interesting that Stuff knew exactly what to OIA to get the information they needed.
The emails read as being set up to be discovered. They also make Bridges and Yang seem gung-ho in paving their own way without assistance from MFaT. Given the ham-fisted and tone-deaf comments made by Bridges in China, it would seem that he has trod on someone’s toes so they’ve given him a tickle up to see how he copes. It has also been timed for the news dead zone to ensure it gets traction. Whoever gave Stuff the heads up has done well.
Bridges won’t be able to answer questions about this without looking cheesy or supercilious. He’ll look as out of place as he did as the little man in the big chair in the great hall of the people. I do wonder though if Guo Shengkun asked him if he really thought one Chinese is worth more than two Indians.
