WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an Oct. 15 letter to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) urged the “swift rejection” of the Pushmataha County hydroelectric project proposed by the Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation.
“This project would, without due process, deprive Oklahomans of the constitutional right to private property and jeopardize American national security,” the 2nd District congressman asserted.
Brecheen said he is “firmly opposed” to the SEOPC project for three reasons: • It would require “the seizure through eminent domain” of 35,000 acres of private land, and the electricity generated by the hydropower plant “would be sold in Texas, not Oklahoma.”
Eminent domain “is meant to be for the ‘public benefit’,” Brecheen noted. “This project would benefit Texas, not Oklahoma.”
• Usage of the Kiamichi River’s water “is regulated by an agreement between Oklahoma City and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, who oppose this project.” That agreement, which was finalized in 2016, “was years in the making.”
• SEOPC is “run by an individual with ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” Brecheen charged. “Foreign entities that are hostile to the American Republic have no right to own land in our nation.”
Johann (Yau On) Tse, 48, is listed as the president of SEOPC and his office is in Dallas, Texas.
“China is not investing in this project in any way,” Tse told KOTV-6 in Tulsa. “I am a proud American citizen with Chinese ancestry… I have no ties to the Chinese Communist Party and they are not involved in this project.”
However, his business connections raise questions among Oklahomans.
Tse has directed inquiries to a Dallas telephone number or an email address at Aquarian Capital. On its website, Aquarian lists a street address in Plano, Texas. Tse reportedly was the founder of Aquarian Capital and has been its chief executive officer since 2006.
On its website Aquarian Capital posts an introduction which indicates close ties with China, and several members of Aquarian Capital’s “team” have extensive business ties to China.
Aquarian Capital has four offices in the People’s Republic of China “and boasts of “…extensive relationships with governments and industries in the Greater China region,” Brecheen wrote in his letter to FERC Chairman Willie L. Phillips.
Tse also was the founder of the Heart Pact Fund Management Co., “a firm partnered with the Chinese stateowned telecommunications company, China Unicom, in southeastern China,” Brecheen wrote.
In November 2020 the Trump administration prohibited the trading of securities from Unicom “due to its links to the People’s Liberation Army,” Brecheen continued.
“Following the Trump administration’s lead, the New York Stock Exchange removed Unicom from its exchange.” And since September 2022, China Unicom has been banned from operating inside the United States “as the Federal Communications Commission lists it as a ‘national security threat’,” Brecheen wrote.
Tse is a member of Swire LTD, a Chinese public relations firm that is a member of the Communist Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ China International Public Relations Association, Brecheen wrote. “CIPRA’s express goal is to represent China on the international stage and to …help win the great victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Tse is listed as a director of China Dadi Chemical Limited, which is described as a provider of industrial salt and salt chemicals. “The company provides industrial salt and chlor-alkali chemicals, as well as other salt chemicals in mainland China. It offers more than 50 types of products applied in metals, paper making, chemical processing, construction, plastics, and agricultural industries.”
Tse is listed as an independent director of Fuling Global Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of mainly environmentally friendly plastic and paper food service disposable products. Reports indicate Fuling Global is based in Wenling, China.
Tse reportedly earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1990, and an MBA from INSEAD graduate business school in France in 1999.
“The fact of the matter is that while Mr. Tse may or may not be an official member of the Chinese Communist Party, he is deeply involved with its members and their goals,” Brecheen told Phillips. “For this reason, he and any company or organization he is a part of should have no place in Oklahoma or the United States.”