2024-03-10 16:23:13
On August 21, 2017, Zhao Xiaolan (left), Zhao Xicheng (middle), and Zhao Anji (right) attended an event in Flushing, New York. (Lin Dan/The Epoch Times)
[The Epoch Times, March 10, 2024](Epoch Times special department reporter Cheng Gong, Ning Xin interviewed and reported) Regarding the cause of death of Foremost Group Chairman and CEO Zhao Anji, the Blanco County Police in Texas has had twists and turns. Recently, there were detailed reports that Zhao Anji’s car fell into a pond and died due to wrong driving. When her life and career were at their peak, Anji Zhao died suddenly, prompting her brother-in-law Mitch McConnell to reflect: Maybe it was a reminder from God.
The Wall Street Journal published the latest report on Zhao Anji’s death accident on March 8, saying that before the accident, Zhao Anji was driving a Tesla electric car to make a three-point U-turn and accidentally shifted the wrong gear, shifting the forward gear to reverse. gear, the car then surged backwards, over an embankment and into a pond, where he drowned.
Zhao Anji’s sudden death brought a huge mental blow to his family and friends. His 96-year-old father Zhao Xicheng said that this was something the entire family had never expected, and they felt extremely sad.
On February 28, McConnell, the leader of the U.S. Senate Republican Party and the husband of Angela Chao’s sister, Elaine Chao, announced in Congress that he would resign as the leader of the Senate Republican Party in November. He said that it was Zhao Anji’s death that prompted him to reflect and decide to resign. “Maybe it was God’s reminder.”
Regarding resigning as the leader of the Senate Republican Party, he said that he had been considering it for several months, but the sudden death of his wife and sister Angie Zhao prompted him to reflect and make the final decision.
He said, “When you lose a loved one, the grieving process is accompanied by some kind of reflection. Perhaps this is God’s way of reminding you to reconsider the impact we leave on the world as we go through life. .”
McConnell worked with Trump during his term as president, but the two also had differences; Trump refused to accept the results of the Electoral College in 2020, and following the Capitol Hill incident on January 6, 2021, the rift between the two sharply deepen.
However, perhaps due to the sudden death of Angie Zhao and self-reflection, or a “reminder from God,” McConnell immediately expressed his support for Trump’s candidacy for the next US president following Trump’s Super Tuesday victory.
There are still doubts regarding the cause of Zhao Anji’s death
Regarding the latest disclosure of Zhao Anji’s death, some netizens still questioned: “It’s impossible. If it was such a simple operational error, it would have been announced early…”
Senior current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times, “The Blanco County police’s two reversals of attitude stemmed from differences in opinions within the police, and there is no unified conclusion.” Judging from the current situation, “Anji Zhao died in a car accident. An accident. However, not all doubts have been clarified.”
The reason why Anji Zhao died unexpectedly has attracted much attention, not only because she is the sister of Elaine Chao, the sister-in-law of Republican Senate leader McConnell, and the chairman and CEO of Foremost Group, but also because the Zhao family is famous and has close ties with the United States and China. The political and business circles are closely connected, and people want to know the truth behind it.
Tang Jingyuan believes that the possibility of Zhao Anji committing suicide is very small. The reason, in addition to the latest news disclosed by the media, he also put forward another observation point: “Anji Zhao also talked to her friend Wu Xinying on the day of the accident, and happily promised to go to Taiwan next week to attend the Zhou Chou Ceremony of Wu’s son. . This shows that she was in a normal life. Therefore, Zhao Anji died suddenly at midnight that day. It is almost impossible to commit suicide. This is not in line with the most basic common sense.”
At present, the dust has not yet settled regarding the cause of Zhao Anji’s death. Tang Jingyuan further analyzed: “Based on the current information, it is more likely that she died in an accident, but the possibility of homicide cannot be completely ruled out. The case has not clarified all doubts.”
Foremost Group builds ships in China once more following five years
China Ship Trading Network reported on January 29 that CSSC Chengxi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (CSSC Chengxi) welcomed the return of the Chinese shipyard’s “old friend” the American Foremost Group following five years. Chengxi placed an order for four 82,000-dwt methanol dual-fuel bulk carriers.
The new ships are expected to be delivered from 2027 to 2028, with each ship costing approximately US$42 million, and the total cost will reach US$168 million.
Foremost Group’s fleet operates 31 cargo ships with a total transport capacity of approximately 4.68 million deadweight tons. Among them, 19 were built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, 2 were built by CSSC Chengxi, and the other 10 were built by Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding.
Since February 2019, Foremost Group has not ordered new ships at Chinese shipyards, but has turned to Japan. In 2022, two 181,500-dwt cargo ships will be ordered from Japan’s Namura Shipbuilding, which are scheduled to be delivered this year and next.
CSSC Chengxi is a listed company under China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which is a very large enterprise group directly managed by the central government.
CSSC Chengxi celebrated “the return of old friends from China Shipyard”, but unfortunately Zhao Anji, chairman of Foremost Group, passed away.
Analysis: It’s dangerous to be in two different situations
The Zhao family was once envied as “the first Chinese family in the United States.” Anji Zhao’s father, Zhao Xicheng, is known as the Chinese “Ship King” in the United States. Four of his six daughters graduated from Harvard University. Eldest daughter Elaine Chao has served as Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation, and her husband McConnell is the minority leader of the U.S. Senate. Anji Zhao was the chairman and CEO of Foremost Group, the Zhao family’s shipping business, during her lifetime, and her husband, James W. Breyer, was a well-known American venture capitalist.
Tsukasa Shibuya, president of the Japan Asia-Pacific Exchange Society and honorary professor at Takushoku University, published a research report at the Japanese strategic think tank “Japan Strategic Research Forum” in 2020, introducing the Zhao family’s interactions with high-level officials of the CCP.
According to the article, the Zhao family has contacts with successive leaders of the Communist Party of China. For the CCP, the McConnells are also the CCP’s key “united front” targets in the United States, so the Zhao family is engaged in a lot of business. Thanks to the support of the CCP, the Zhao family’s business prospered and they became the Chinese shipping kings in the United States with a net worth of billions of dollars.
Zhao Xicheng was admitted to the National Chiao Tung University in 1946, during which time he and Jiang Zemin were classmates at the same school. In early 1980, Zhao Xicheng began to contact Jiang Zemin, then Minister of Electronics Industry, and took a stake in a Chinese state-owned maritime electronic equipment manufacturer, whose main sales targets were the military. From then on, the Zhao family began to cooperate with the CCP in many ways, and their relationship gradually deepened.
After Jiang Zemin became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Zhao Xicheng made a special trip to Beijing to congratulate him; since then, Zhao Xicheng and Jiang Zemin met six times.
In 1993, when Elaine Chao and McConnell got married, Zhao Xicheng took them to Beijing. Jiang Zemin met with the McConnells in Zhongnanhai and hosted a banquet for the family at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. This is the first meeting between McConnell and Jiang Zemin.
In 1997, when Jiang Zemin visited the United States, he met Chao Elaine and his wife. Later, the two met several senior CCP officials.
Anji Zhao often travels between the United States and China and has very close relations with China. She is a director on the board of directors of China State Shipbuilding Corporation and an independent director on the board of directors of Bank of China, one of the five largest banks in China.
Zhao Anji’s husband, Breyer, has been engaged in venture capital and investment in China for a long time. He is a guest in Beijing. His partners include the CCP’s largest security technology company, “360”. After 2018, he mainly invests in AI technology. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and served as its sixth chairman from 2016 to 2019. He is very familiar with Zhu Rongji and Wang Qishan, and has also attracted the attention of Xi Jinping, the current leader of the Communist Party of China.
On January 19, Breyer announced an 18-month moratorium on investment in China and Chinese technology companies.
On February 1, his investment company IDG Capital was included in the Pentagon’s “Chinese Military Industrial Enterprises” entity list and was identified as a CCP military company. This is the first American company to be sanctioned by the United States.
Tang Jingyuan also said, “There are strong CCP elements in the death case of Zhao Anji. This can be seen from the fact that the mainland Caixin network immediately actively spread the fake news that he was hit and killed by a truck.”
He further analyzed that if Zhao Anji is finally confirmed to have died of homicide, then there is no doubt that the CCP should be regarded as the number one suspect. Because in the process of Sino-US relations changing from partnership to hostility, those who have their feet in two boats are very dangerous. At a time when the United States and China are rapidly decoupling, quickly withdrawing one foot from the sinking ship of the CCP – this is the wise man who knows the current affairs. ◇
Editor in charge: Lian Shuhua#
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