Father Behind $6.5 Million Payment to Get Daughter Into Stanford Has Close Ties to Chinese Regime

Yusi Zhao Molly shot a video and said she received an offer from Stanford University because she had a good score by hard working in 2017. Youtube Screenshot

The father of a Chinese student who was recently revealed to have gained admission to Stanford University in California through a reported bribery payment of $6.5 million is a billionaire who has close ties to the Beijing regime.

The student’s father, Zhao Tao, one of China’s entrepreneur billionaires, in fact, works closely with the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, an agency that rallies Chinese abroad to promote Beijing’s interests. Meanwhile, his business or former employees have been convicted at least seven times of bribing local Chinese officials.

Statements From Parents

Zhao Yusi, 19, also known as Molly, began studying at Stanford University in 2017. She was expelled on April 2 after revelations emerged that college consultant William “Rick” Singer—the central figure in the U.S. college admissions scandal—after receiving bribes from her parents, arranged for Zhao to be accepted by claiming that she was a competitive sailor fit for the school’s sailing program.