
Liu Chaoying (劉超英), or Helen Liu, was an executive at
China Aerospace International Holdings
China Aerospace International Holdings Limited (abb. CASIL) is a Hong Kong incorporated holding company. The company itself is a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and a listed company on the Stock Exchange of Hong ...
which is the
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
subsidiary of China's premier satellite developer,
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strate ...
(中國航天科技集團公司). She was a Lt. Col. in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) of China. Liu is the daughter of former PLA General
Liu Huaqing
Liu Huaqing (; 1 October 1916 – 14 January 2011) was Chinese revolutionary and an admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy, who served as the third Commander-in-Chief of the Navy from 1982 through 1988. He is considered to have greatly co ...
, and her elder brother,
Liu Zhuoming, is a vice admiral of China's People's Liberation Army Navy.
[Jackson, David and Sun, Lena H.]
Liu's Deals With Chung: An Intercontinental Puzzle
''Washington Post'', May 24, 1998. Retrieved 10 November 2020. She was a major figure in the
1996 United States campaign finance controversy
The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, or uncommonly referred to as Chinagate, was an effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also invo ...
.
According to ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'',
[Washington Pos]
"Campaign Finance Key Player: Johnny Chung"
''The Washington Post'', May 21, 1998 Johnny Chung Johnny Chien Chuen Chung (鍾育瀚; pinyin: Zhōng Yùhàn) (born 1955) was a major figure in the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy.
Born in Taiwan, Chung was the owner of a " blastfaxing" business (an automated system that quickly ...
met Liu in June 1996 through mutual business contacts in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
. Liu was looking for a foothold in Western markets. When she visited the U.S. in July 1996, Chung introduced her to
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...
at a Los Angeles fund raiser. She and Chung also paid a call on the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, a meeting arranged by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, another recipient of Chung's illegal contributions. On the agenda: the procedure for getting a foreign firm listed on American stock exchanges. On August 9, 1996, Liu and Chung formed Marswell Investment, a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
corporation that issued 50,000 shares of stock—30,000 for Liu, 20,000 for Chung. And within days, Liu wired $300,000 into Chung's account at a Hong Kong bank, a source familiar with the case told ''Time''. Most of it was for their new business venture; some went to the D.N.C. Between 1994 and 1996, Chung donated $366,000 to the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
. Eventually, all of the money was returned. Chung told federal investigators that $35,000 of the money he donated came from China's
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...
.
The relationship between Liu and Chung became increasingly apparent to officials within the intelligence community, and specifically with regards to
U.S. National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matters. Based in t ...
(NSC) aide
Robert Suettinger
Robert L. Suettinger is an American international relations scholar currently serving as a senior advisor at The Stimson Center and an advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). He was national intelligence officer for East Asia ...
,
when Chung befriended former Lt. Col. Liu Chaoying during a
Commerce Department
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...
trade mission to China.
Johnny Chung later testified under oath to the U.S.
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
Committee in May 1999 that he was introduced to Chinese general
Ji Shengde
Ji Shengde (; born 1948) is a former major-general in charge of military intelligence in the People's Liberation Army of China. In June 1999 he was removed from his post after being implicated in the Lai Changxing smuggling scandal centered on ...
, then head of China's
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...
, by Liu Chaoying. Chung said that Ji told him: "We like your president very much. We would like to see him reelect . I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to the president and the Democrat Party."
[Johnston, David]
"Committee Told Of Beijing Cash For Democrats "
''The New York Times'', May 12, 1999 Both Liu and the Chinese government denied the claims.
["Chinese Aerospace Official Denies Giving To Dems"]
, ''CNN.com'', May 21, 1998
Liu Chaoying was involved in other controversies. ''Ren Min Bao'' (人民報)
[Ren Min Ba]
''人民報'', February 14, 2001 reported that "Liu Chaoying, together with a business partner, were litigated by The
Kwangtung Provincial Bank
The Kwangtung Provincial Bank () was a bank latterly based in Hong Kong, also known as the Provincial Bank of Kwangtung Province. The largest of the provincial banks, there were however a succession of at least seven distinct organisations trading ...
in January 2001, which filed civil proceedings in the Hong Kong High Court, alleging that Liu Chaoying and another unnamed businesswoman were the principals involved in a defaulted HK $10 million loan, as loan guarantor, and it ruled that the two are the responsible parties for the loan's repayment."
Personal life
Liu Chaoying was formerly married to
Pan Yue.
[Johnson, Thomas 2009: ]
Extending Environmental Governance: China’s Environmental State and Civil Society
' p.210. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Chaoying
Living people
China–United States relations
20th-century Chinese businesswomen
20th-century Chinese businesspeople
21st-century Chinese businesswomen
21st-century Chinese businesspeople
National University of Defense Technology alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)