Chapter 16
Bush and the Butchers Divide the Pie

III. The Bush family is in a state of confusion

According to news reports, the son of President George H.W. Bush, the younger brother of President George W. Bush, and the representative of the Bush family’s interests in China once said, “I am considering joining the Communist Party of China!” The CCP’s Southern People Weekly (March 6, 2013) once reported this extensively.

He is the son of the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, and the younger brother of the 43rd President George W. Bush. He is engaged in “promoting volunteer services and Sino-US relations”, “real estate, energy and mineral resources”, and investment consulting business in China. Recently, Neil posted a photo on Sina Weibo: he was wearing a military green red star hat, a military green “serve the People” Lei Feng bag across his body, and holding an enamel cup with Mao Zedong’s portrait in his hand, with the words “A single spark can start a prairie fire’ written on it. He added the picture: “I am considering joining the Communist Party of China. What do you think of my equipment?” This Weibo attracted the attention of Chinese netizens, some of whom made fun of it, some were puzzled, and some were relieved. However, this matter caused controversy in the American media, and some American netizens even said angrily: ‘the Bush family is the traitor who sold us to China!”

Neil was wearing a wrinkled blue shirt and black-framed glasses. A landscape painting hung on the wall behind him. On a cabinet was a small sailboat, a “smooth sailing” gift commonly seen in small commodity markets in China.

On the other side was a photo wall. In the center was a family photo, which was taken when their family spent Christmas at Camp David for the 12th and last time, the last time before the third American president appeared in their family.

Below the family photo was a very eye-catching photo of him and Jiang Zemin. The rest of the space was occupied by photos of his children and grandchildren.

In a room connected to the office, several cabinets were filled with his collections, all of which were Chinese things. “I like to decorate the house and fill it up. I have never bought any, all were given by others.” He said.

The collection includes big red plates with golden dragons painted on them. Various vases and boxes, containing commemorative medals. While showing, he muttered: “I also want to know why they (the hosts who received him in China) are so generous every time.” Among the many collections, his favorite is a portrait of Mao Zedong, the red sun.

Every time he visited a place in China, the local people would make a beautifully bound book with photos of his visit – there were group photos of him meeting leaders of various levels, each accompanied by an interpreter, similar to the meeting of big shots in the “News Broadcast”. These books are also kept here in piles.

There are also his photo albums, all of which are photos he took in the 1970s and 1980s: pedestrians on the streets of China, Chairman Mao’s portrait, the Great Wall, and their bicycle trips – the feeling is in line with the bicycle topics left by his father, Mr. George H.W. Bush, to China. He pointed to one of the photos and said, “Look at these two Chinese men. Their eyes are just staring at my brothers and sisters. People in that era were too curious about us.” He first came to China in 1975. “When my father was still a ‘bicycle ambassador’, …… I will never forget the scene in China at that time. The streets were full of bicycles, pedestrians were everywhere, and the windows only displayed basic necessities of life. People wore the same style and limited colors of clothes, and there was little freedom.” At that time, he went to the zoo with his brother and sister to see the giant pandas. The locals watched them and were more interested than watching the giant pandas. In this simple American office in Houston, Mr. Neil Bush showed his deep connection with China. Since 1975, he has traveled to China more than 100 times. He is the son of the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, and the younger brother of the 43rd President, George W. Bush. He does business in China in “promoting volunteer services and Sino-US relations” and “real estate, energy and mineral resources” and investment consulting. “In my opinion, Neil is regarded as the ‘unofficial ambassador’ sent by the United States to China, representing his father. His father was the UN ambassador when the United States voted to restore its seat in the United Nations. When Taiwan was kicked out of the United Nations, Neil was there! His father was also the first American official stationed in mainland China in 1974. During his eight years as Reagan’s vice president and his four years as president, he supported China’s high international status. And Neil was with his father at many such important moments.” said Mr. Edward Lehman. He specializes in commercial law in China and is one of the partners of Lehman Bush Investment Co., Ltd.

“Our law firm has been handling business for the US Embassy for the past 25 years, and that’s how I met him (Neil). We founded a company (Lehman Bush) to help investment operations between China and the United States. With the help of major decision-makers from both governments, we have solved many difficult problems in the operation of Chinese and American companies. So this is why Neil is special and why our business is special.”

Regarding the welcome he received in China and his Chinese friends, Neil gave a diplomatic explanation: “I won’t tell you (my Chinese friends’) names – because I have many friends in China, it will hurt feelings.” “I must I have to admit that as a member of the Bush family, many people in China are indeed very fascinated to meet me. No matter where you are, I think people will pay super attention to a member of such a famous political family. This is different from the United States: in the United States, people from such a family have special responsibilities – to endure the pursuit of flash lights all the time, to be supervised and criticized by the media everywhere. In China, people are just curious, pure curiosity……” On August 27, Neil posted a photo on his Sina Weibo: he was wearing a military green red star hat, a military green “Serve the People” Lei Feng bag across his body, and an enamel cup with Mao Zedong’s shining head in his hand, with the words “A single spark can start a prairie fire” written on it. This outfit is worn over his suit, tie and white skin. He added the picture: “I am considering joining the Communist Party of China. What do you think of my equipment?” followed by a “hehe” smiley face. “I am the co-chairman of a company that owns and manages a hotel, which is my home when I visit Beijing. The hotel staff treats me as a VIP and jokingly gives me a hat, handbag and cup as gifts.” Neil said. “And I thought, why don’t I take a picture?”

This microblog attracted the attention of Chinese netizens.

“Write an application letter and see how you perform.”

“You are joining the Red Army, dear.”

“Your father and your brother will remove you from the family, dear.”

“An era that once had faith can indeed inspire countless people.”

Some netizens joked, some were puzzled, and some were relieved. Neil’s assistant translated many comments for him.

“I think most of them are very humorous and witty.” He said. However, this matter caused controversy in the American media. Some American netizens even said angrily: “The Bush family is a traitor who sold us to China.”

In response, Neil spread his hands and said, “I don’t think this is a very serious topic.” “I think they have no sense of humor ….. People should have the ability to understand jokes… I took pictures purely for fun. I don’t really want to join the Communist Party – I thought the smile on my face said it all.”

Although it was a joke, Neil once showed the people-friendly temperament of a “Communist Party member”. On the afternoon of September 28 last year, he visited Jiefangbei in Chongqing. When he was preparing to have a meal at a snack bar on the “Delicious Street” on Bayi Road, “a ‘bangbang’ (the common name for porters in Chongqing) was sitting next to us, so my friend invited him to join us. He was a great guy, with bright eyes, humor, and vitality.” According to local media reports in Chongqing at the time, Neil did this because he “wanted to hear the opinions of the grassroots people on Chongqing.” After the meal, he took a photo with the lucky “bangbang”. After hearing about this, the then Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee smiled and said, “I want to praise Mr. Neil Bush. You have a good work style, that is, you go deep into the grassroots, conduct investigations and research, and communicate with the people.”

“My lunch with the ‘(Chongqing) Bangbang’…is a manifestation of my hope to learn Chinese culture through communication with people. As a member of a political family, perhaps there is a factor in my genes to interact with people from all walks of life. … Those who have no money but work hard and maintain a positive attitude towards life always give me a lot of inspiration.”

For an American who has been observing China since before the reform and opening up, Neil has his own understanding of China’s changes and the psychology of the people.

“America is like a big, beautiful house by the river, and China is on the other side. My impression is that all Chinese people, including government officials, young people, and workers, want to have a big, beautiful house. I saw on Weibo that some people want to have it now. Life is not that easy. What China really needs to do now is to continue to build its home and make it big and beautiful. This takes time. In 1975, the houses I saw in China were all dilapidated shacks. Today, it has improved greatly, but it is still far from the big, beautiful house across the river. I very much hope that the Chinese can settle down, work hard, improve the legal system, continue the fight against corruption, and maintain economic-centered development. In the end, China will have a big, beautiful house.”

Compared to the Long March in China, Neil’s American dream in his native country was not smooth. In high school, Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, and his mother Barbara took him to see a doctor and encouraged him. After gradually recovering, Neil became a master of public speaking.

Political commentator Jeffrey Clare once commented: “Neil Bush has always been regarded as the rising star of the Bush family. He is handsome (the only blond son), friendly, represents middle-class politics, and seems smarter than his two brothers. If it weren’t for the scandal that destroyed his future…” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was involved in the bankruptcy case of the “Silverado” savings and loan institution in Colorado. Neil was a director of the institution and was found to have instructed it to lend money to poorly managed real estate companies, some of which were then transferred to his roommate’s exploration company on the verge of bankruptcy. Later, he was also pulled into the profitable real estate company. In the end, the loan institution collapsed, leaving a debt of 1.3 billion US dollars. In 1991, the Federal Office of Thrift Supervision determined that Neil had an interest in the bankruptcy case and profited from it. In addition, Bush Sr. was in office as president, and the matter was a hot topic for a while. Neil Bush almost became synonymous with financial scandals. Investors demanded debts, and protesters posted satirical portraits with the words “Send Neil Bush to jail.” In response, Neil said that as an outside director, he had no decision-making power at all. Although he claimed that he was innocent, he admitted that he had “something fishy” in some transactions. After paying a fine of 50,000 US dollars, he avoided jail time.

Bush Sr. later said to his friends: “If his (Neil) surname was not Bush but Jones, I believe his name would not have appeared in the newspaper. I know that kid is completely innocent.”

In the view of Douglas Weed, Bush Sr.’s special assistant to the president, if it were not for this scandal, Neil might have entered politics like his father and brother. It is said that when he was at home, he also asked several brothers for advice on the secret of running for governor.

Weed said: “They discussed together at the time that George Bush would run for governor of Texas, Jeb Bush would run for governor of Florida, and Neil could run for governor of Colorado. The Bush family all favored Jeb, but in terms of personality, Neil had the best prospects. He was the most charming of the Bush brothers, he was lively, funny, and more eloquent than the other brothers…… It was easy for him to run for Congress.” However, in the end, Neil became what he called “a non-political member of a very political family in the United States”, and he focused his main energy on doing business and inheriting his father’s “China complex”. “I have encountered some things that seem serious to ordinary people, such as setbacks in business and failed marriages. But I will not fall into negativity, but will pay more attention to the sources of happiness: a warm home, excellent children, a beautiful wife who always supports me, and work to promote volunteer services and Sino-US relations – all of which can bring me happiness and motivation.” He said, “Politics is certainly a noble calling to serve the public, but everyone in this world can find ways to help others.” In the Chinese concept, Neil is like Lei Feng. For him, it was his family education that made him look for “ways to serve others.”

Bush Sr. established the Bright Spot Fund to promote volunteer service, and Neil is now the chairman of this organization. At the same time, he often participates in occasions in China to discuss Sino-US relations, attending on behalf of his father.

“Of course he misses (China), where he has his friends, memories, youth and life, and the achievements and progress he has made. He has not visited China for a long time, and he will never return to China again, never again…”

On June 12 this year, Bush Sr. turned 88. The Bush family reunited on the coast of Maine. In order to pay tribute to the old president, the US Navy brought over an aircraft carrier named after him. Such a reunion and a glorious scene reminded Neil of the special feeling of experiencing history in the “People’s House” when his father and brother served as president.

My father is old and has difficulty walking, and his pace of life has slowed down. “However, although he is not in politics, he knows it very well, because politics has penetrated into his blood.” In this year’s presidential election, Bush Sr. also endorsed Republican candidate Romney.
“My father endorsed him because he had a close personal relationship with Romney’s father, and they were both Republicans…” Neil explained: “As for the current political arena, my father has long been away from politics, and he will deliberately keep his distance – because he is old. It is no longer his era, his politics. He no longer expresses any opinions on the current political circle.”

This old man who seems to be away from politics still has ambitions. “When my father gradually aged, he forced himself to be as busy as possible. He wanted to set a good example for other elderly people, so he went skydiving on his 85th birthday. In Maine, he drove his favorite speedboat and took a romantic trip with my mother on the Queen Elizabeth II. My parents are aging gracefully.”

Peter Schweizer, one of the authors of “The Bushes”, commented that the Bush family is “the most successful political dynasty in American history.” When Neil himself had no hope of entering politics and the outside world was talking about his nephew George P., he always reminded his son Pierce that he also had a “sense of mission” to serve the American people.

“I am very proud of my brother George’s sense of honor and clear mind during his presidency. He kept his word, was full of energy, gave many speeches, actively participated in matters related to injured veterans, AIDS, and malaria patients, and greatly improved his golf skills – the number of strokes above par has been controlled to single digits. Brother Jeb once successfully completed an eight-year term as governor of Florida and is still advocating and promoting American education reform. I hope he will continue to be active and find new ways to serve the country. Maybe one day, several of the next generation of the Bush family will also enter the political race, including George P. and my son Pierce, who are young people who are particularly enthusiastic about the field of public service.”
…

Facts speak louder than words. Let’s see what the Bush family “Lei Feng” did – through a series of speeches in China, Bush Sr. earned $125,000 to $150,000, and he also served as a director of many companies. However, since his activities were “mostly private”, he had “no obligation to disclose”. The Bush family’s “profiting from China (the Communist Party)” was neither a secret nor isolated. If you don’t believe it, go online and check. The Clinton family, the Obama family, the Biden family, the Trump family… all profited from “China” – they gained a lot of economic benefits from the Communist Party.

Why are the reactionaries in China and the United States so closely connected? Because Deng Xiaoping’s reforms were originally modeled on the “two-handed policy” of Roosevelt’s New Deal, the major presidential families, various pro-communist elements, and professional brokers all gained a lot of economic benefits from the Communist Party, and for this reason, they naturally sold out the national interests of the United States.