His world of rarefied promises is now under the spotlight after a woman arrested at Mar-a-Lago said she wanted to meet “Charles.”
By Anna Fifield Anna Fifield Beijing bureau chief. Email Bio Follow April 3 at 8:47 PM BEIJING — “Dr. Charles” pitches himself as a conduit to American power. His social media pages and the website of his organization — audaciously called the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association — are a who’s who of Florida Republicans and glitzy Mar-a-Lago dinners.
“Dr. Charles,” whose real name is Li Weitian, according to bank records, has become a central figure in the Chinese effort to get close to Trump and influential Republicans. The same statement said that at the end of November that year, “Charles” met with You Lantian, who was deputy director of the United Front Work Department. This department is an influential unit of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, responsible for coordinating these kinds of influence operations.
His QQ profile page shows “Charles,” arms crossed, on the cover of a magazine called “People of the Century.” “At a place known as the crossroad of the world, he [Charles] joined Fortune 500 entrepreneurs at the same global stage in showing the world that how the Chinese people are dedicated to world peace,” the article said. “We will be U.N. peacekeepers and fight for a bigger say in terms of global publicity, on behalf of all Chinese people around the world.”“Charles” has built a business in which potential Chinese clients are encouraged to think he can get them through the same doors.
Basic membership, which costs about $450 a year, comes with a certificate and a bronze medal from his United Nations Chinese Friendship Association. There are tiers of membership, with the vice chairman level — a cool $30,000 — bringing opportunities to attend high-level state visits. He also offered a trip to the White House and “visiting politicians and Asian leaders” in Washington, and to attend a conference at Harvard where there would be “multiple professors.”
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