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Hutchison Whampoa was also Asia's largest satellite television broadcaster until they sold their stake in Star TV to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
There have been charges made by conservative critics of China in the United States that Hutchison Whampoa provides a means by which the People's Liberation Army intends to gain control over the Panama Canal. However, many people see these charges are baseless. Some critics (including Howard Phillips, Chairman of the US Conservative Caucus ), and Larry Klayman , the founder of Judicial Watch) contend that contracts putting large parts of the Panama Canal under Hutchison Whampoa control were handled in a corrupt manner. They also have suggested that in letting Hutchison Whampoa control the Panama Canal they may be putting it under control of the Chinese government, since Hutchison Whampoa has strong links to the Chinese Communist Party.
A previously declassified US intelligence report has stated “Hutchison Whampoa’s owner, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, has extensive business ties in Beijing and has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China’s leadership.” Another report US intelligence report states, "“Li is directly connected to Beijing and is willing to use his business influence to further the aims of the Chinese Government. He has positioned his son, Victor Li, to replace him in certain Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa operations such as HW’s Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT). ... Li’s interest in the Panama canal is not only strategic, but also as a means for outside financial opportunities for the Chinese government.” (Intelligence report source)
Frank GaffneyGaffney Jr. is the president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for The Washington Times. Frank Gaffney is a former Reagan administration Assistant Secretary of Defense. Gaffney is head of the right-wing advocacy organization, the Center fo, of the Center for Security Policy, has written that Whampoa "is currently hard at work acquiring a presence for China at other strategic 'choke points' around the world, including notably the Caribbean's Bahamas, the Mediterranean's Malta, and the Persian Gulf's Straits of Hormuz. At a moment inconvenient to the United States, such access could translate into physical or other obstacles to our use of such waterways."[1]Hutchison Whampoa have also been criticized for heavy-handedness towards British art charity The Couper CollectionThe Couper Collection is a floating art museum and registered charity, on converted barges, which is permanently moored on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, London. It exhibits artworks and installations by artist Max Couper, as well as hosting exhibi, by The Daily Mirror and Telegraph ( 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom), and The Sunday Times ( 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co). See article on the Sunday Times website. The dispute also involves British architectAn architect is a person licensed in the art of planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings, or more generally, the designer of a scheme or plan. See architecture or landscape architecture Architects and landscape architects are consi Norman Foster.