John Kerry makes millions of dollars from solar panels built by Uyghur slaves
One of the priorities in John Kerry’s plan to address the “crisis” of global warming is the importation of solar panels manufactured on the backs of Uyghur slaves in China, and it just so happens that John Kerry stands to pocket millions of dollars in the process.
We first learned of US Special Envoy for Climate — a made-up title for a made-up job — John Kerry’s connection to the Uyghur slaves back in May when he appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in a lame attempt to rationalize the use of slave labor in his war against so-called global warming.
During the hearing, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, asked Kerry to provide assurances that Biden’s climate strategy wouldn’t involve solar panels produced from forced labor. “When you look at the supply chain, when you look at China, they dominate the critical mineral supply and solar supply chains all coming out of Xinjiang Province,” McCaul said.
In classic John Kerry fashion, he told McCaul he was “absolutely correct” in his concerns, and called it “a problem.”
“Xinjiang Province not only produces some of the solar panels that we believe are being in some cases produced in forced labor by Uyghur[s], but also there are significant amounts of a certain rare earth mineral that’s used in the solar panels themselves.”
Kerry never provided the assurances he was asked to provide, but he rationalized his exploitation of the Uyghurs based on an empty promise by the Biden administration to impose sanctions against Xinjiang Province.
“It is my understanding that the Biden administration is right now in the process of assessing whether or not that would be the target of sanctions.
“I’ve heard some discussion about it. I’m not privy to where that decision is at this point in time but I can tell you that nothing can be traded. And I’ve made that very clear, President Biden has made it very clear.”
Kerry’s ambiguity concerning the Uyghur slaves has become a bit clearer in light of revelations that he has millions of dollars invested a Chinese private equity fund heavily invested in a tech company blacklisted for human rights abuses, and that he stands to make millions more as a major stakeholder in a solar panel company linked to labor abuses of the Uyghurs (via Washington Free Beacon):
The Chinese private equity fund in which John Kerry holds a $1 million stake is not only invested in a tech company blacklisted for human rights abuses but is also a major shareholder in a solar panel company linked to labor abuses of the Uyghurs.
Last December, that private equity fund, Hillhouse China Value Fund L.P., purchased a 6 percent stake in LONGi Green Energy, a Chinese solar panel manufacturer, making it the company’s second largest shareholder.
LONGi has come under fire from human rights groups and U.S. lawmakers for sourcing many of its raw materials from companies suspected of using forced labor in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China where the government has cracked down on the Uyghur population and other ethnic minorities.
Hillhouse is also a major funder of a tech company tied to the Chinese government’s surveillance of the Uyghurs, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon last week. News of that investment led Republican senators to call on Biden to fire Kerry over ethics concerns. Further insight into Hillhouse’s holdings is likely to increase scrutiny of Kerry’s finances and raise questions about whether he is using his role as climate envoy to block regulations on Chinese solar panel imports. While Kerry has acknowledged that many solar panels are produced with forced labor in Xinjiang, he has also indicated resistance to additional financial restrictions or penalties on these goods.
Anders Corr, an intelligence analyst and publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, called Kerry’s China investments “an outrage” due to the human rights implications.
“Far too many investors have continued to pour billions into China even after abundant evidence that the country is executing an ongoing genocide and threatens war against our closest allies,” Corr said. “That Kerry too had funds invested in China is an outrage, not least because he is a public official who claims to uphold the highest of ethics. Investing in China, given its shocking violation of human rights and totalitarian political system, should be cause for immediate removal from any positions of public trust.” (emphasis mine)
By the way, Corr isn’t being hyperbolic about the the numerous investors pouring “billions” into China; a virtual who’s who of hundreds of “woke” American corporations that have made social justice and ending “systemic racism” official company policy are also cashing in on the Uyghurs and China’s slave labor enterprises.
Democrats are apparently OK with John Kerry pocketing millions of dollars from solar panels built by Uyghur slaves. Back in June, Nancy Pelosi helped pass the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act back in June, a bill that requires public companies to report on how their operations impact global warming. Before passing it, however, Democrats rejected an amendment that would have required companies to inform their shareholders if they engaged in activities with a Chinese official or a company using Uyghur slave labor.
In John Kerry’s world, the murder, rape, and torture of the Uyghurs is a price he’s willing to pay if it makes for a greener planet and allows him to pocket millions of dollars. Besides, if properly disposed of, the bodies of these slaves can be turned into compost, chalking up a win-win for Mother Earth.
In the meantime, Uyghur slaves will keep pumping out solar panels to fight the “crisis” of global warming, and that’s something John Kerry and the Democrats are OK with.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.
Follow the Strident Conservative on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to receive podcasts of his daily two-minute radio feature: iTunes | Stitcher | Tune In | RSS
sp;
