Jenna Wang, the daughter of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, has said she had a hidden romance with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz during his time teaching in China.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail released on Monday, Wang said she and Walz, Minnesota’s current governor and the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, had a passionate affair that included promises of a future that ultimately went unfulfilled.
Newsweek has contacted the Harris-Walz campaign via email for comment. The campaign did not respond to the Daily Mail‘s request for comment.
Wang, now 59, said she met Walz in 1989 when he taught English at No. 1 High School in Foshan, Guangdong Province, through the nonprofit WorldTeach.
At the time, Wang was a 24-year-old English teacher at No. 8 Middle School and, despite the risks posed by her father’s high rank within the Communist Party, the couple began a discreet relationship.
Tim Walz in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on October 28, 2024. Jenna Wang, the daughter of a CCP official, has said she had a hidden romance with Walz during his time teaching in China.
ASSOCIATED PRESS/Morry Gash
“Tim was very passionate and very romantic. I can still remember dancing with him to our favorite song, ‘Careless Whisper’,” Wang told the Mail.
Because public displays of affection could jeopardize her family’s reputation, Wang said she and Walz maintained their connection behind closed doors.
She recounted intimate moments in Walz’s accommodations, where they would listen to music, talk for hours and share their dreams for the future.
“The fact we couldn’t touch or kiss in public just made it all the more exciting and intense when we were finally alone,” Wang said.
She added, “We were deeply in love, and I wanted to marry him and start a family. When it didn’t happen, I felt very unhappy and sad. Tim’s behavior was very selfish.”
In 1992, the future vice presidential candidate returned to China, where tensions escalated over Wang’s desire for marriage and a life in the United States. Walz, however, allegedly questioned her intentions, wondering if she was interested in him or simply a pathway to a U.S. visa. “This was very offensive,” Wang told the Mail. “I said to him that it is both or nothing.”
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called for an investigation following the revelations, citing possible implications for national security.
In a post on X, Rubio said, “If you aspire to be Vice-President of the United States, voters deserve to know everything about any and every link you have to the CCP.”
Rubio has yet to confirm whether he will pursue an official inquiry into Walz’s past relationship with Wang or any broader connections.
Newsweek has contacted Rubio’s office via email for comment.
Walz’s China stint has stirred controversy before, notably due to him making a misleading statement about being in China during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
While Walz previously claimed to have been in Hong Kong during the uprising, later reports found that he did not arrive in China until months after the protests ended.
Walz, who addressed the issue during the vice presidential debate earlier this month, described his earlier comments as “knuckleheaded.”
Wang, now a teacher and translator in Europe, said she felt compelled to speak out due to what she described as Walz’s “selfish” behavior and lack of transparency.
“Tim lied about Tiananmen Square, and he’s lied about other things,” she told the Mail. “This is a very crucial moment in history, and a man like this does not appear to have the character and integrity to do one of the most important jobs in the world.”
