As the trade war between the United States and China escalates, Dong Mingzhu, the chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances, publicly stated that Gree will never use overseas returnees because “there are spies among them,” sparking controversy. Some scholars pointed out that Dong Mingzhu’s statement aligns with the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, revealing the behind-the-scenes control and usage of certain overseas returnees by the CCP.
On April 22, Gree Electric Appliances’ extraordinary shareholders’ meeting approved the proposal for the board of directors’ election, with Dong Mingzhu re-elected as the chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances for her fifth three-year term in charge. However, she did not take up the position of president of Gree Electric Appliances.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media, when addressing talent cultivation issues, Dong Mingzhu stated, “We will never use overseas returnees. There are spies among them, and I don’t know who is and who isn’t,” and “I can only conservatively choose to cultivate our own talents in domestic universities.”
Dong’s remarks have stirred up controversy. On Weibo, some netizens discussed, “Better to be safe than sorry: Gree and Japan’s Daikin once jointly produced air conditioners, what does that count for?” “Are there no spies among domestic hires?” “What authority does an entrepreneur have to accuse someone of being a spy? She has truly lost control.”
It is noteworthy that Dong Mingzhu made this public statement amidst the intensifying trade war between the United States and China, with the CCP facing challenges.
Veteran political commentator Tang Jingyuan, currently residing in the United States, told Epoch Times that Dong Mingzhu’s refusal to employ overseas returnees is in line with the unprecedented crisis facing the CCP. Whenever the CCP faces a severe crisis, it tends to further emphasize political control. Dong Mingzhu’s actions reflect this atmosphere, and Gree’s rejection of hiring overseas returnees is mainly to avoid political risks. “This decision has some relationship with the increasingly deteriorating international political environment that the CCP is facing.”
In the past, graduates from prestigious overseas universities were a popular choice for various government posts across China. However, in recent years, overseas returnees are gradually being excluded. This year, provinces like Beijing and Guangdong have directly closed their doors to overseas returnees in their selection processes.
Tang Jingyuan mentioned that currently, only Gree emphasizes not using overseas returnees, but it is likely to quickly set a precedent.
Legal scholar Yuan Hongbing, based in Australia, told Epoch Times that the CCP has always held a distrustful attitude towards overseas returnees, not just because of the ongoing trade war. Since Xi Jinping took office, the political policy has been a return to the Mao Zedong-era orthodox ideology.
After Xi Jinping’s close associate, Chen Yixin, took over the National Security Bureau, the power of the bureau has risen, transcending the traditional intelligence domain. Following the enforcement of the revised “Anti-Espionage Law” on July 1, 2023, the CCP’s National Security Bureau initiated a wave of “anti-spy” movements and opened official WeChat accounts, frequently intervening across different areas.
On April 29, 2024, Chen Yixin published an article in official party media, stating that the National Security Bureau aims to “counter subversion, counter hegemony, counter separatism, counter terrorism, counter espionage,” and “to uproot nails and eliminate internal traitors.”
Yuan Hongbing explained that during the Cultural Revolution, there was an absurd ultra-leftist trend, and anyone with overseas connections was considered dissenters by the CCP. The current CCP leadership has been subjected to the toxic influence of Mao Zedong’s orthodox ideology during the Cultural Revolution, leading to deep suspicions towards overseas returnees.
As tensions rise between China and the United States, a group of Chinese-American scientists have returned to China to work in recent years. However, experts believe that the CCP authorities may not entirely trust them.
Yuan Hongbing noted that the CCP’s categorization of overseas returnees can be split into two groups. Public-funded returnees have dual identities—overseas students and operatives or agents for various CCP spy agencies closely associated with intelligence, the united front, and the National Security Bureau. “They are CCP’s own people.” The other group consists of self-funded students studying abroad, towards whom the CCP holds an extreme suspicious attitude.
Yuan Hongbing revealed that during the Cultural Revolution, the CCP had an internal stipulation, designating a type of “controlled use personnel,” meaning individuals they possess less trust in need internal monitoring by secret police.
Yuan Hongbing stated that during the period of liberalization under Hu Yaobang in China, this policy was briefly abolished but was reinstated after Xi Jinping took office. Prior to the CCP’s 20th National Congress, the mechanism of the so-called controlled use personnel was formally reinstated, primarily targeting self-funded overseas returnees.
Yuan Hongbing further mentioned that due to Western scrutiny tightening on CCP-funded or covertly sponsored students abroad, the CCP no longer finds it as easy to infiltrate Western countries through students. As for those individuals who self-funded their studies abroad and returned to China for work, they will undoubtedly face rejection or be monitored in secret. Even if they enter the CCP’s official circles, they will be marginalized. Hence, Dong Mingzhu’s declaration is not a simple phenomenon but also reflects the current policy under Xi Jinping.
A commentary in the Beijing official media, Xinkuaibao, yesterday suggested that Dong Mingzhu’s offhand “spy theory” undoubtedly exposes her outdated employment concepts. To a large extent, this stems from deeply ingrained prejudices. The article described this as a disconnected “original sin of the returnees,” a significant offense towards high-end returned talent.
Yuan Hongbing remarked that Dong Mingzhu accidentally disclosed the reality of the CCP, while Xinkuaibao’s commentary is just a cover-up attempt. “Because the CCP has always ruled through lies and violence, speaking only good in public while carrying out evil deeds. Although Dong Mingzhu’s words reveal the actual policy the CCP is implementing, she also exposes the discriminatory nature of the current CCP’s policy. Therefore, she is bound to provoke anger from the CCP authorities.”
Tang Jingyuan believes that although official media have come out to refute, Dong Mingzhu’s actions actually align with the CCP’s strategy of isolation. Since Xi Jinping took office, he has been pushing for national advancement while retracting from civil society, engaging in strategic retreats and aggressive Wolf Warrior diplomacy, which has led China towards increasing detachment from the West. “A large number of enterprises are more inclined to use domestic talents only, and exchanges in talent, technology, and education with foreign countries will become increasingly restricted, possibly even severed entirely, leading to a complete isolationist state reminiscent of the Mao Zedong era.”