He called himself a political advisor to a Chinese organization: Filip Dewinter’s contacts do not seem as innocent as he made them out to be

He was fooled, it was purely about cultural exchange with China and there was no wrong intention whatsoever. In short, that has been Filip Dewinter’s defense of his Chinese contacts for years.

In 2018, it became known for the first time that the Antwerp Vlaams Belanger maintained contacts with the Chinese spy Shao Changchun. Dewinter himself claimed that he did not know it was a spy. His intention was to get the Chinese voters in Antwerp behind him through that contact. But a new journalistic investigation of Humo and Apache shows that those contacts were much less innocent than Dewinter makes it seem.

READ ALSO. “Never been to a restaurant with Filip Dewinter”: Koen Metsu demands correction after his name appeared on expense report for Chinese non-profit organization

They were able to obtain documents from the period 2016-2017. This concerns, among other things, a letter from Dewinter to a high-ranking Chinese politician, on House stationery. In it he describes himself as a member of parliament and as “senior political advisor of Silk Road Peace Award Foundation”. That Foundation is one of the many non-profit organizations that Shao has founded in our country.

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Dewinter therefore without hesitation calls himself a political advisor to a Chinese organization, which is a lot less innocent than Dewinter claims. He no longer wants to respond to that. At Humo he previously simply said: “I am not a political advisor”.

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Expenses

The new investigation also shows that Dewinter set up a meeting between Shao and the Syrian ambassador in our country. Payments have also become clearer. It was previously announced that Dewinter received a total of around 25,000 euros in expense reimbursements. The documents show that he had, among other things, paid for dinners with fellow party members and with foreign far-right politicians, including from the Greek Golden Dawn. Nothing is known about the content, but it seems like influence.

The documents show that he had, among other things, paid for dinners with fellow party members and with foreign far-right politicians

When Dewinter organizes a seminar together with a non-profit organization from Shao, he writes a note by hand on the Chamber’s stationery: “You can pay me according to your satisfaction for the organization of the seminar and the lobbying work, etc.” According to Humo and Apache it was 3,000 euros.

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Deontology

Dewinter reacts to the new information as he always does. He calls it “reheated food” and “finding thin water, not coincidentally three months before the elections”. His party also calls it “old news” and retains confidence in its Antwerp figurehead. “Filip Dewinter was already acquitted by the public prosecutor’s office for the same ‘news’,” says the spokesperson for Vlaams Belang. “It was then ruled that no criminal investigation could be conducted, because he could not be blamed for anything. The deontological committee of the Flemish Parliament also ruled at the beginning of this year that Filip Dewinter cannot be blamed. This is nothing more than yet another attempt to damage Vlaams Belang.”

READ ALSO. Ten thousand face masks distributed by Filip Dewinter “came from Chinese spy”

With the latter, the party refers to the case surrounding face masks. At the end of last year it became known that Dewinter received 10,000 face masks through the same Chinese intermediary Shao at the start of the corona crisis. However, at that time he was certainly already aware of his espionage activities. The ethics committee declared the complaint inadmissible because it had too little information from State Security.

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It is true that the public prosecutor’s office also previously acquitted Dewinter after the revelations in 2018. But various sources have stated that this is mainly due to the (too) lax espionage legislation. With the new law, which comes into effect this year, he would have less chance of going free.

Vice-Chairman

With this case, Vlaams Belang is once again embarrassed. At the end of last year it became known that Vlaams Belang municipal councilor Frank Creyelman had a Chinese spy pay for lobbying work and information. Chairman Tom Van Grieken then immediately threw Creyelman at the door. The chance that he will do the same with Dewinter is very small. Dewinter is a list pusher for the coming elections and still a voting champion. In the local elections of October he is the candidate mayor of Vlaams Belang in Antwerp.

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In the Flemish Parliament, Groen asks that he resign as vice-chairman of parliament. But neither Dewinter nor his party seem to respond to that, given their reactions. It remains to be seen whether N-VA will also take further action. In a document from 2016, Dewinter asks to be reimbursed for a dinner with N-VA MP Koen Metsu. But Metsu formally denies that he has ever been to a restaurant with Dewinter.

Not the first incident

● In November 2018 it comes to light that Filip Dewinter worked for years with a non-profit organization run by the Chinese Shao Changchun (photo). That non-profit organization was suspected of espionage by State Security. Dewinter did not deny the collaboration, but said he had no knowledge of espionage. Dewinter will not be prosecuted further in the Chinese espionage case.

● In February 2019 the public prosecutor’s office determines that Dewinter has not committed any criminal offences.

● In December 2023 a new espionage case erupts at Vlaams Belang. Ex-senator Frank Creyelman worked for a Chinese spy for years for pay. He is immediately expelled from the party. A week later, MP Steven Creyelman had to resign as chairman of the Army Purchases Committee. He came under fire for possible involvement in the espionage activities of his brother Frank.

● End December 2023 brings it Newspaper from the fact that Dewinter obtained 10,000 free face masks through the same Chinese spy at the start of the corona pandemic. Groen filed a complaint about this with the deontological committee of the Flemish Parliament.

● Mid-January 2024 the ethics committee declares the complaint against Dewinter inadmissible. The committee has insufficient insight into the concrete information from State Security.

● Dewinter is now coming under fire again for the same Chinese contacts as in 2018. Documents that Humo and Apache to the public, show how the Flemish Belanger worked as a “senior political advisor” for a non-profit organization of Shao Changchun and how he generated high expense reports.