Racing mogul’s extensive links to ministers revealed
The horse-racing billionaire at the centre of a foreign donations row met multiple ministers in the last government, including former prime minister John Key.
Representatives of Lang Lin said he also recently considered donating to New Zealand First because of the party’s support for horse racing, but they — and Winston Peters — said Lang did not discuss any offer.
The mogul’s connections to New Zealand government figures were played up by his representatives over the past week, including sending the Herald a photo showing Lang alongside Key and Chinese president Xi Jinping taken during a November 2014 visit to New Zealand by Xi.
Chinese media presents many of Lang’s meetings with local political figures as news, with stories and pictures featuring him having lunch with then-prime minister Key in December 2015, and sharing a stage with primary industries minister Nathan Guy.
Representatives of his Rider Horse group are also pictured meeting foreign and racing minister Peters last year in Beijing.
Last week the Herald reported then-trade minister Todd McClay had helped facilitate a $150,000 donation to the National Party from Lang’s Rider Horse group in 2017, after having first met the mogul in 2016 in Beijing on official business.
McClay and National leader Simon Bridges said the donation was legal and declared in the party’s accounts, but the use of Lang’s New Zealandregistered Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Industry NZ (IMRHINZ) to make the donation sparked a political row. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the use of a local company to avoid restrictions limiting donations from foreign nationals to $1500 was “outside the spirit of what our law intends when it comes to foreign donations”.
Lang’s representatives said their donation was “within the law” and motivated by a “good impression” of the National Party and also was an “appreciation to the New Zealand people”.
“Rider Horse has also considered to donate to New Zealand First, based on their support to the horse industry. However, this hasn’t been processed.”
IMRHINZ director Simon Poon said the possibility of a donation was not discussed with New Zealand First, and had ultimately not proceeded because of what he said were budget constraints.
Peters told the Herald this week he could only recall once being in the same room as Lang — when he was at a racing function and Lang was presented with an award — and word of a planned donation was news to him.
Canterbury University professor Anne-Marie Brady, whose work on United Front activity in New Zealand has drawn international attention, said the issue with donations from China was not one of ethnicity.
“It’s not a problem to be ethnically Chinese and giving money. It’s not a problem to be rich and donating money. The problem is foreign states and interference in our political system,” she said.
Questions to Guy were answered in a statement sent by a National press secretary. The statement acknowledged he had in 2015 presented Lang with a “horse of the year” award and launched a veterinary exchange programme at Massey University involving the Rider Group. “I have not met with him or the Rider Horse group since. We did not discuss donations and I have never approached any Government departments or ministries on his or the wider Rider Horse group’s behalf.”
Questions to the Labour and Green Parties about whether their accession to government had triggered the receipt, or discussion of, a donation from Lang or his Rider Group were met with firm denials.