Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz welcomed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials into his classroom while teaching in Nebraska in the 1990s. According to the Daily Caller, the Chinese officials worked for an institute associated with a Chinese intelligence and influence agency.

The incident occurred in February 1996, when a group of three "educators" from southeast China came to Walz's social studies class at Alliance High School to reportedly "study the education system," according to a rediscovered Alliance Times-Herald story. The Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) obtained a study of Chinese government data that showed the delegation included CCP officials who at the time were employed by an institute serving a Chinese espionage agency.

The matter has sparked further concerns surrounding Gov. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and his alleged ties to the CCP. Recent reports revealed that Walz nominated a member of a CCP-aligned political party to the executive branch of Minnesota in addition to lying about important aspects of his trip to China.

Walz and his wife, Gwen, were sponsors of a student trip to China when the "educators" stopped by his school in rural Nebraska during a trip to the US. The data showed that two of the three "educators" had ties to the CCP, while the other person, Ning Ziheng, traveled with the pair as an interpreter. No reports indicated that Ziheng is a member of the CCP, but it was determined that Ye Guoqiang and Yi Hongtao were members of the Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education and have been members of the ruling communist party for decades, according to the Chinese government and academic data reviewed by the DCNF.

The Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education is listed as a "group member" of the Guangdong provincial branch of the Chinese People's Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), which is a Chinese influence and intelligence agency, Chinese government records show.

Congressional Republicans have already launched an investigation into Gov. Walz's alleged ties with the CCP.

In August, FBI Director Christopher Wray received a letter from Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, asking for details about "any Chinese entity or individual with whom Mr. Walz may have engaged or partnered."