Family dynamics can be tough at Christmas. Some families don’t spend time together during the holiday season because they’re not getting along. Family members avoid certain gatherings because of annoying siblings or cousins, and let’s not forget the unhinged leftists who refuse to associate with family over politics.
But when your family is prominent and you’ve brought scandal upon it, you probably shouldn’t expect an invite to the Christmas luncheon and gift exchange. This is what’s happening to Prince Andrew. This time, he’s not in hot water over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, his allegedly racist language, or his treatment of employees. Instead, he’s in trouble this time because of his association with an alleged Chinese spy.
Chinese businessman Yang Tengbo, also called Chris Yang, recently tried to appeal a court’s 2023 decision to ban him from the UK. The court declined to rescind the decision because, as the BBC reports, Yang “had been involved in an ‘elite capture’ operation — a tactic of the Chinese state to exert influence in western nations.”
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The report explains that it’s unclear exactly when Andrew and Yang began to communicate with each other:
The court heard he was invited to the prince's birthday party in 2020 and he was told he could act on the prince's behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.
The alleged spy was stopped and questioned by UK border police officers in November 2021 under powers to investigate suspicions of "hostile activity" by a foreign state.
In a letter found on one of his confiscated devices, Mr Yang was told by one of Prince Andrew's advisors: "Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor."
Yang has repeatedly maintained his innocence and said in a statement that the BBC reported about on Tuesday “that he's done ‘nothing wrong’ and descriptions of him as an alleged spy were ‘entirely untrue.’” That wasn’t good enough for the Royal Family.
“Shortly after the suspected spy was identified, royal sources told the BBC that Prince Andrew — who has been described as forming an ‘unusual degree of trust’ with Yang — will not join the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas,” the BBC reported.
This story has Conservatives and Labour Party members alike wondering how much influence the Chinese have had on the government of the UK. Conservatives, in particular, aren’t happy with the current Labour-led government’s attempts to cozy up to China.
“Given what we’ve learned and what we know, these very close relations that the Prime Minister is apparently attempting may not be wise, and the rather sycophantic tone the Prime Minister took with President Xi at the G20 a few weeks ago may not be very wise in the light of what we now know,” Member of Parliament Chris Philp told Parliament, as The Spectator reported.
Labour is only replying with finger-pointing. The Spectator’s Isabel Hardman wrote that Labour politicians didn’t offer “a great deal of clarity” and instead remarked that “the Conservatives had been at least as bad at something as the current party of government.”
“When it comes to China’s extensive influence operations, British business people, politicians, academics (and now royalty) have shown an almost wilful lack of curiosity,” wrote Ian Williams at The Spectator. “The priority seemingly has been to keep the money flowing and avoid causing offence to China. The shocking revelations surrounding the Duke of York’s dealings should be a wake-up call, though Keir Starmer remains asleep at the wheel.”
Will the UK’s attempts to make nice with China end in regret? That remains to be seen, but we can say for sure that the Royal Family will avoid some tough conversations about it at the Christmas dinner table this year.
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