‘Warm hospitality’: University president has repeatedly cozied up to top CCP officials

FIRST ON FOX: Top diplomat on Chinese Communist Partywho recently replaced a controversial official with deep ties to top New York Democrats, recently touted his relationship with an American University president and former top New Jersey education official.

Chen Li, who assumed the role of Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in New York last month, took to social media last week to praise the “warm hospitality” he received from Kean University President Lamont Repollet.

“Absolutely overwhelmed by President Repollet’s warm hospitality. I truly felt at home on this campus,” Li wrote on X. “Commitment to bilateral educational exchange and people-to-people ties is the key to the success of Wenzhou-Kean University, a Sino-US joint institution.”

Repollet, who served as New Jersey’s education commissioner for more than two years under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, was seen smiling in two photos Li posted. According to Repollet’s Kean University biography, he was charged with “overseeing the transition to distance education amid the COVID-19 pandemic and playing a key role in planning for the 2020-2021 school year.”

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Despite warnings from Biden and Trump administration officials about CCP influence, Repollet has developed deep ties to China over the years, a Fox News Digital review found. He recently visited Beijing in October this year to deliver a keynote speech at the Triennial Conference of the International Association of University Presidents held in Beijing.

Press releases from the conference stressed that Repollet was passionate on equity in education and that his keynote speech noted that “AI is a revolutionary tool that can foster equity and change the way we engage with students and support their success.”

“AI has the power to help close achievement gaps and ensure that every student, regardless of challenge, has access to high-quality educational resources,” he continued. “By offering personalized learning experiences, AI is empowering historically marginalized students with the tools they need to succeed.”

A few months earlier, Chinese state media circulated a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Repollet, which was in response to a letter he had sent to Xi, according to state media.

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“Recently, President Xi Jinping responded to a letter from Lamont Repollet, president of Kean University in the United States, encouraging Chinese and American universities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and contribute to China-US friendship,” the Chinese government said in a statement. press release.

“Recalling that he witnessed the signing ceremony of the Sino-US Cooperation Agreement on the Joint Establishment of Wenzhou-Kean University in 2006 at Kean University, Xi Jinping said he was glad to see that through the joint efforts of both sides, Wenzhou-Kean University has achieved outstanding results . results and become a significant project in Sino-American educational cooperation.”

“Xi expressed his appreciation for what Repollet said in his letter about deepening cooperation with Wenzhou-Kean University and encouraging American students to come to China for exchange and study, and called on the universities of the two countries to strengthen exchanges and cooperation through various modalities to cultivate young envoys who know both countries well and build more bridges to promote China-US friendship,” the statement continued.

In addition, a Wenzhou-Kean University press release praised Repollet’s “significant” visit to China in April 2023.

“Kean University President Lamont O. Repollet and his delegation embarked on an important visit to Wenzhou, marking the first visit in three years,” the press release said. “This visit represented a unique opportunity to strengthen the interaction between the two universities, encourage mutual exchange between Zhejiang Province and New Jersey in the United States, and strengthen the long-standing friendship between the two countries.”

The press release said that Repollet arrived in China on March 20, 2023 and “wasted no time” to meet with Wenzhou Party Secretary Shuji Liu Xiaotao.

“Mr. Liu Xiaotao expressed the hope that the two sides will continue to build a model of Sino-US cooperation in education and foster a bridge of friendly exchanges, with a bright future for the university,” the statement said. “President Repollet expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Wenzhou government for its unwavering support for the construction and development of WKU.”

Xiaotao has been a member of and served in the Chinese Communist Party since 1991 various roles over the last few decades.

In addition, China’s state media company held an event in New York in September of this year at which Repollet was listed as a speaker where, according to press releasehe “emphasized the importance of cultural exchange and people-to-people diplomacy in fostering mutual understanding among nations.”

Speakers included several Chinese officials, including Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the US, and Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the propaganda department of the CCP Central Committee. Haixiong also serves as the head of the China Media Group, a key media conglomerate that plays a major role in the country’s state media apparatus.

Although Repollet’s ties to China have strengthened since he became president of Kean University, his Facebook profile shows that he visited China several times before becoming Kean’s chief administrator.

For example, a Facebook post from 2016 shows Repollet attends the inaugural opening of Wenzhou-Kean University in China as a member of the university’s board of directors. He also attended the 2017 opening in China, according to another Facebook post.

Before Chen Li took over the top position at the Chinese Consulate in New York, the position was held by Huang Ping, who has long history promoting KPK propaganda and calling the KPK “the big party”, denying the alleged genocide against the Uyghurs, and meeting with officials across the United States at universities, media companies and in elected office.

Repollet also has ties to Ping since 2021, according to a statement from the Chinese consulate in New York. Ping and Repollet met virtually in December 2021, where Ping congratulated him on his appointment at Kean University and praised “the university for setting a good example of Sino-US educational cooperation with its 10-year successful campus in Wenzhou, China.”

“[Repollet] “It is widely agreed that educational cooperation plays a unique role in mutual exchange and in strengthening understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples,” the consulate press release said.[Repollet] confirms that the university highly values ​​globalization and diversity and firmly supports cooperation with China.”

Months earlier, Repollet made a video on behalf of the New York Chinese Consulate at the celebration of the “72nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China”. In the video, he highlighted his university’s “strong ties” with China and said he was “immensely grateful to our Chinese partners and the people at Kean USA who continue to work together to help this university, and especially our students, thrive.”

“I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in China to further develop this great institution and celebrate together events such as National Day in China [and] deep into the future,” Repollet continued.

And in 2023 post on Facebook also shows Repollet taking part in an event marking the last day of Chinese New Year, which features Ping.

Michael Sobolik, author of “Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance,” sounded the alarm about this close relationship between Repollet and China, telling Fox News Digital that the relationship is a “cautionary tale.”

“The university has a Human Rights Institute, but it does not mention the ongoing genocide in Beijing against the Uyghurs, the cultural genocide in Tibet, the political crushing in Hong Kong, or the wider oppression of the Chinese people at home and abroad,” Sobolik continued. . “This is what happens when American universities align with the Chinese Communist Party: money and market access encourage Americans to ignore the party’s crimes and remain silent.”

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The Chinese Consulate in New York, which previously stood on the CCP narrative in response to numerous inquiries from Fox News Digital, dismissed Sobolik’s analysis, calling him a “so-called ‘expert'” who “lacks a basic understanding of China.”

“The statements about Xinjiang, Xizang, Hong Kong and human rights are factually incorrect and constitute typical disinformation. We firmly oppose such slander and slander,” the consulate continued. “Educational exchange and cooperation between China and the US is in accordance with the laws and common interests of both sides, and is transparent and flawless.”

“Kean University is known for promoting educational equality and inclusivity, and its cooperation with China will provide more learning and development opportunities for students of all ethnic groups in the US,” the consulate added. “We invite some people in the US to take off their ‘colored glasses’, look at cooperation objectively and positively.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Kean University for comment but did not hear back.