In the first article, I explained how Konnech Inc., a U.S. software company based out of East Lansing, Michigan, helps manage the poll workers, poll locations, campaigns, assets, mail-in ballots, and supplies necessary to run elections in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Although, the American technology company is used by the U.S. Department of Defense and ‘thousands of election offices across North America’, Konnech Inc., which was founded in 2002, previously built a ‘communication platform’ called ChineseBrief.com for the Confucius Institute.
Furthermore, many of the company’s software engineers and employees graduated from Chinese universities such as Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, University of Science and Technology of China, Beijing Language and Culture University, China Agricultural University, and HuaZhong University of Science and Technology.
For instance, Eugene Yu, the CEO of Konnech Inc., graduated from Zhejiang University in Zhejiang, China, with a bachelors degree in 1982 before receiving his MBA from Wake Forest University in 1988.
Moreover, in Queensland, Australia’s 2020 elections, “count reporting problems on election night” were partly the result of “a new computer system not being tested as planned because ‘coding resources’ were locked down in Wuhan”, according to the digital news company InQueensland.
In fact, these Wuhan coding resources led to four members of the Queensland Parliament — MP Crandon, MP Lister, MP Simpson, and MP Robinson — asking the Queensland Premier on July 15, 2020, why Konnech was given the contract to produce the software administering Queensland’s elections using “China based coders”?
MP Robinson questioned the Premier, “Can the Premier guarantee that Konnech, Inc. does not have a connection to the Chinese Communist Party through its China based subsidiary Jinhua Konnech Inc.?”
And that is where today’s story begins.
Jinhua Konnech Inc.
Consider that a patent application was filed in China for a system of “network voting of absent electorates” by Jinhua Konnech Inc. on February 4, 2015, under two inventors named Chen Wei (陈伟) and Shao Guojun (邵国君).
The rights of that patent were then transferred on October 7, 2015, from Jinhua Konnech Inc. to Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. (金华鸿正科技有限公司), a Chinese election technology company also founded in 2015.
Rather impressively, Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. is a software provider for the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China.
Hongzheng Technology builds hardware and software including mobile applications for more than 400 NPC clients in more than 20 provinces across China.
Hongzheng Technology is also partnered with Lenovo, Huawei, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile and has branch offices in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuhan among other places, according to the company’s website.
Here are some of Hongzheng Technology’s election products:
Interestingly, Hongzeng Tech. was only established on April 13, 2015 which is relatively recent for such a successful company.
The company started with seven investors, two of which that had the last name Yu, which should be familiar to you at this point in the story.
In China, first names and last names are reversed so Yu Lin (于林) would own 99.4% of the company and Yu Jun (于君) along with five other investors would each receive 0.1% of Hongzeng Tech.
Shao Guojun (邵国君), the aforementioned Chinese inventor listed on the Jinhua Konnech Inc. patent, which was transferred to Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd., was also one of the initial investors 0.1% of the company.
The total equity was distributed as follows:
- He Qiong (何琼) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Jiang Zhaoling (江照灵) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Shao Guojun (邵国君) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Tang Ruixin (汤瑞新) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Yu Jun (于君) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Zhao Xiangkun (赵祥坤) Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
- Yu Lin (于林) Contribution: 497; Percentage: 99.4%
Incredibly, once upon a time, on April 18, 2012, Shao Guojun (邵国君) and Yu Jun (于君) co-applied for a U.S. patent with none other than Konnech Inc. and Eugene Yu.
co-applied for a U.S. patent with none other than Konnech Inc. and Eugene Yu.
Meaning Shao Guojun (邵国君) not only turns up on a patent with Eugene Yu and Konnech Inc. in the United States, but his name also appears on a Chinese voting technology patent transferred from Jinhua Konnech Inc. to Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd in 2015.
A company which Shao Guojun (邵国君) is a part owner of and a company that is actively building software technology for the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China and openly partnered with Lenovo, Huawei, and numerous Chinese government-owned telecom giants.
A deeper dive into the internet archives on Eugene Yu further reveals that he was once a financial advisor at Prudential Securities Inc. after graduating from Wake Forest University.
To better understand Eugene Yu, an archived 2005 magazine produced by the China Association for Science and Technology in the United States and the American Zhu Kezhen Educational Foundation reveals that Yu was an officer of the American Zhu Kezhen Education Foundation in 2000 and 2001, a foundation which stated mission is to bridge Zhejiang University with American universities.
Most importantly, you will notice that the 2005 magazine list Eugene Yu followed by a Chinese name, Yu Jianwei (于建伟).
That same magazine with a cover page that says, “Overseas Scholars” provides this paragraph (translated via Google) on Yu Jianwei validating that he is none other than Konnech Inc’s CEO Eugene Yu:
“During this period, I was honored to have Wang Feiyue, Zhu Cheng, Yu Luping (Chemistry 82) and Yang Fang to join the senior Yu Jianwei (Thermophysics 81). Huge help. Under the auspices of Yu Xin (Biochemical 82) and President of Zhejiang University Pan Yunhe, Jianwei holds an MBA degree.
He was the financial advisor of Prudential Company, which seriously held the annual department of Zhu Kezhen’s famous scholar with the support of the famous American. He gave us a lecture, Every year, I invite several academic masters to talk about the same leading into many professional financial systems and investment approaches.
He later studied the frontier progress in the field, which made a huge frontier progress in the academic improvement of Zhejiang University, which made a huge contribution to the academic improvement of Zhejiang University, construction and installation of communications equipment.”
To understand the timeline of how all of these events coincide, I must now introduce you to the Substack article that I stumbled across on Thursday evening that led me to these patents, Shao Guojun (邵国君), and Yu Jianwei (于建伟).
This next segment will be a timeline featured directly from the author’s excellent analysis that further explains all of these connections.
Timeline
(all domains noted below were registered to Konnech)
- 2002-03-20 Konnech Inc. Incorporated in Michigan ID Number: 800599006. Eugene Yu holds all officer titles: President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director of Konnech, Inc. (2021 is the most recent Annual Report with officers listed)3
- 2002-03-30 konnech.com domain created
- 2005-11-29 Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. established in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China with $130,000 USD funds. Principal of the company is Yu Jianwei (于建伟), a foreign natural person (ie, a US resident).4
- 2006-01-16 bestbrief.com domain created
- 2006-01-16 schoolbrief.com domain created
- 2009-01-08 pollchief.com domain created (Election management software, Election services, Poll worker training)
- 2009-03-25 Konnech filed for PollChief trademark. Serial Number 77698702, Registration Number 39513965
- 2010-11-12 abvote.com domain created
- 2011-04-26 Trademark registered for PollChief
- 2011-09-07 Konnech filed for ABVote trademark. Serial Number 85416420, Registration Number 43845776
- 2012-04-18 US Patent application US-20130104090-A1 “Device and method for selection of options by motion gestures“.7 8
Inventors:Eugene Yu (Okemos, MI)
Jun Yu (Zhejiang)
Guojun Shao (Jinhua) (See 2015-04-13 and 2015-10-07)
- 2012-09-05 ipetitioner.com domain created (Signature Verification Software)
- 2012-09-26 plocation.com domain created
- 2012-10-12 Konnech filed for iPetitioner trademark. Serial Number 85752482, Registration Number 43910139
- 2013-04-25 US Patent granted “Device and method for selection of options by motion gestures”. 10 11
- 2013-08-13 Trademark registered for ABVote
- 2013-08-27 Trademark registered for iPetitioner
- 2014-2015 Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. engaged in “Research and Development of Network Election Backend Server Subsystem”.12 [Translated via Google]
- 2014-06-06 votedge.com domain created (a Konnech shake to vote app)
- 2015-04-13 Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. established13
Initial Investors
He Qiong 何琼 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%Jiang Zhaoling 江照灵 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Shao Guojun 邵国君 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Tang Ruixin 汤瑞新 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Yu Jun 于君 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Zhao Xiangkun 赵祥坤 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Yu Lin 于林 Contribution: 497; Percentage: 99.4%
- 2015-07-31 hongzhengtech.cn domain created14
- 2015-10-07 Transfer of patent application right for a Chinese Patent (CN-104618378-A & CN-104618378-B). System and data processing method for network voting of absent electorates. Rights transferred from JINHUA KONNECH, INC., TO JINHUA HONGZHENG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.15
Inventors:
Chen Wei 陈伟
Shao Guojun 邵国君
2015-10-07 Transfer of patent application right for a Chinese Patent (CN-104618378-A & CN-104618378-B). System and data processing method for network voting of absent electorates.
For starters, you will notice that Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (金华宇联网络科技有限公司) was established in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China on November 29, 2005 by Yu Jianwei (于建伟), a “foreign natural person” to China.
Furthermore, utilizing Chinese search engines, you will find business registrations claiming that Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co. is the “China R&D subsidiary of Konnech Inc.”
