This guy wants to be our Vice President?
In 1998, the Nebraska Secretary of State dissolved the China tourism company of Tim Walz, then a vice presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, due to a $26 unpaid business operating tax. Walz, now Governor of Minnesota, co-founded Educational Travel Adventures, Inc. with his wife Gwen. The company, which was established in Nebraska in 1995, specialized in organizing student tours to communist China. The firm was shut down by Nebraska authorities for failure to pay occupational taxes.
Despite the closure of this initial venture, Walz continued to organize educational trips to China, reportedly leading at least two tours in 1998 and 2001. In 2002, Walz launched a new version of Educational Travel Adventures, Inc. in Minnesota, which he prominently featured during his 2006 congressional campaign. According to archived materials from his campaign, Walz was noted for being part of one of the first U.S. groups officially sanctioned to teach in Chinese high schools.
In 2008, after taking office in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, Walz reinstated the Nebraska-based Educational Travel Adventures by paying $235 in back taxes and interest. However, he dissolved the company again soon after restoring its status.
Recently, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) expressed concerns about Walz’s business dealings with China. In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Comer requested information on Walz’s interactions with Chinese entities and any warnings the FBI might have given him about potential Chinese Communist Party influence operations. There are also concerns that the Chinese Communist Party may have subsidized some of the trips organized by Walz’s company.
Further scrutiny has been applied to Walz’s ties with China, including his role as a fellow and lecturer at the Macau Polytechnic University up until around 2007. Additionally, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has urged the Pentagon to review whether Walz adhered to foreign travel reporting requirements during his trips to China, especially considering his senior position in the Minnesota National Guard at the time.
Walz’s connections to China also extend to his personal life; he married his wife on the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and chose to spend their honeymoon in China. This choice was reportedly motivated by his desire for a memorable date, as noted by Gwen Walz in a 1994 interview.