Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came under fire Thursday from one of his main rivals after references to China were removed from a government website promoting economic development in the Sunshine State.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign pounced on DeSantis after The Messenger reported on changes to the website of Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership chaired by DeSantis and recently renamed Select Florida.
The reported changes included deleted references to a Hong Kong office and efforts to recruit Chinese investments following a Washington Examiner report on Tuesday detailing DeSantis’ alleged dealings with the American adversary.
“Ron DeSantis has been knee-deep in recruiting Chinese companies to Florida for years,” Haley campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik said in a statement.
“Now that he is running for president, he will do everything he can to hide all the evidence. “The more Ron DeSantis loses, the more he lies.”
Haley’s campaign says DeSantis has been “knee-deep in recruiting Chinese companies to Florida for years.” AP A web page that showed DeSantis as the group’s president is no longer available.
As of Thursday, a link to the Florida economic development group’s board page leads to a “404 Page Not Found.”
Haley’s campaign notes that “yesterday,” the same link took people to a page that prominently featured DeSantis, a 2024 White House hopeful, as chairman of Enterprise Florida’s board of directors.
The former South Carolina governor’s team notes that a 2020 report explaining why “Florida is an ideal business destination for Chinese companies” and a map showing an Enterprise Florida office in Hong Kong have also disappeared from the website. .
The 146-page report attracting Chinese investment to Florida is no longer on Enterprise Florida’s website.
“EFI Hong Kong leveraged trade shows and industry or investment forums to expand our network and explore trade and investment opportunities for Florida,” read one line of the report, according to Haley’s campaign, which was viewable online Wednesday.
The Florida governor’s administration told The Messenger that it removed “outdated information” from the revamped website and that the entity ended its relationships with Chinese companies earlier this year “upon realizing that companies on the stock exchange of Hong Kong have been infiltrated with investments from China. military.”
DeSantis’ campaign did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Haley is 5 points behind DeSantis in national polls. ZUMAPRESS.com
Haley is 5 points behind DeSantis in the battle for second place in the 2024 Republican primary, according to a RealClearPolitics average of national polls. Former President Donald Trump leads the race nationally by 46 points, with 59.3% support.
However, a Des Moines Register poll released Monday shows Haley tied with DeSantis (at 16%) for second place in Iowa, which will hold the nation’s first Republican caucuses on Jan. 15.
Haley and DeSantis will go head to head next week during the third GOP primary debate in Miami.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn