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Editor's Note: An earlier version of the article was published on September 22nd. In light of additional information the Review received after publishing the article, the Review has made several minor factual and stylistic corrections to the article. The Review has also uncovered important new information regarding this investigation.
Haotian Bai, a former fellow of Stanford’s Hoover Institution, founded a surrogacy company geared towards providing U.S. citizenship to the children of Chinese elites and helped organize a Chinese internship program in Hawaii that a former state lawmaker later said he reported to the FBI over counterintelligence concerns.
Bai is the founder of Patriot Conceptions. His company was used by wealthy Chinese elites to implant their embryos into American women so their children could be born as U.S. citizens, according to a New York Post investigation.
In a now-deleted article published on the Hoover Institution's website, Bai described Patriot Conceptions as an advocacy and resource hub for military families struggling with fertility. The article failed to mention Bai’s extensive business interest with Chinese nationals. Instead, Bai wrote that Patriot Conceptions offered links and resources for military families seeking surrogacy.
Later in 2025, Bai stated that 40% of Patriot Conceptions' clients were “international,” and a New York Post investigation found that “the company’s promotional materials suggest those international clients are almost entirely from China.” As reported by the NYPost, 2019 court filings state that “the company’s financials were all run out of China.”
Last week, a Patriot Conceptions surrogate identified as “Judy” came forward when she discovered she was carrying the child of reclusive Chinese billionaire Xu Bo. Bo has allegedly sired as many as 300 children, a number of whom gained U.S. citizenship via U.S.-based surrogacy.
The Hoover Institution’s now-deleted description of Bai read:
“Patriot Conceptions, Bai’s first venture, has dramatically transformed the third-party reproduction industry. It offers a comprehensive platform that facilitates connections between intended parents and surrogates and egg donors. Under Bai’s leadership, the company has developed a national network offering specialized services, significantly aiding hundreds of families in realizing their dreams of parenthood. A distinctive aspect of Patriot Conceptions is its commitment to military families, providing special discounts to service members and veterans, reflecting Bai’s continuous dedication to supporting his fellow servicemen and -women…Through these initiatives, Bai exemplifies a unique blend of patriotism, hard work, and technological insight, making significant impacts in each sector he touches.”
Recently, Hoover released a statement retracting their former stance:
“Haotian Bai's Veteran Fellow status ended at the Institution in October of 2025 after completing his non-resident, one-year fellowship where he focused on U.S. Veteran access to IVF through TRICARE. He is no longer affiliated with the Hoover Institution. In light of recent media reports, it is clear that Mr. Bai misled the Institution on the nature of his businesses. A full internal review of the application process to the Veteran Fellowship Program will be conducted by institutional leadership, and necessary changes will be implemented immediately.”
This is not Bai’s first controversy. In 2018, Bai, acting as a “Hawaiian realtor,” was hired by Chinese firms to help organize a special internship program for Chinese students within the Hawaiian state legislature.
In interviews conducted by the New York Post, Hawaii House of Representatives member Matthew LoPresti stated that at the time his office was working very closely with Hawaii’s missile defense program and with the FBI on counterintelligence, Bai’s interns started to appear. Confused and concerned by their sudden arrival, he reported the situation to the FBI.
The internship program was ultimately shut down due to concerns about foreign espionage and mistreatment of interns.
In an interview with the Review, LoPresti confirmed this stating “The internship program was ultimately shut down by the speaker after I expressed national security and other concerns to him and the FBI.”
LoPresti also told the Review, “What no one knew was that I had secretly been working on targeted counter-intelligence and public corruption tasks for the FBI since my first term in office. And then this whole thing just landed in my lap - probably because I ended up as chair of the committee on military and international affairs. I informed the Speaker about my concerns with the internship program and encouraged him to not only take action but reach out to the FBI directly. I had, of course, already informed my partners there to expect his call and to consider looking into it themselves. The whole thing was quickly shut down and swept under the rug.”
Further investigation by the Review found that the internship program was organized by the company Huanmei Yide (Beijing) International Education Technology Co., Ltd, which was founded by Li Chenqi, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member and People's Liberation Army (PLA) military officer. Li, the founder of the internship, served in the PLA’s Strategic Support Force (SSF) during the duration of the internships. According to the U.S. Department of Defense and RAND, the SSF is an intelligence unit, "centralising the collection and management of technical intelligence; providing strategic intelligence."
Moreover, while completing his master’s as an international student, Bai was a board member of a CCP united front-linked association, the Chinese Association of Iowa. (The association gave its top annual award to the PRC Consul General in Chicago during Bai's board term.)
Dr. Jacqueline Deal, founder of defense research firm Long Term Strategy Group, wrote, "Bai's firm Patriot Conceptions is also a top donor (20k-50k by June 2024) to a CCP-linked non-profit, the Yue-Sai Kan One World Foundation. Chinese sources describe the founder, Yue-Sai Kan, as an "honorary president" of a Shanghai united front body and "overseas Chinese leader," who frequently liaises with senior CCP and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (United Front Work Department) personnel on visits to the PRC."
Six years after the internship program was shut down, the Hoover Institution invited Bai to join its Veteran Fellowship Program.
Revelations that Bai’s firm supports Chinese surrogacy in the U.S. highlight increasing concerns that surrogacy could be abused by the CCP to use its citizens' U.S. citizenship for covert activities in the United States.
Bai's internship program’s ties to a Chinese company founded by a PLA officer actively serving in a Chinese intelligence unit, together with a Hawaii lawmaker’s decision to alert the FBI to counterintelligence concerns about the program, raise questions about the due diligence conducted before Bai’s affiliation with Hoover. It remains unclear who at the Hoover Institution invited Bai or what steps were taken to investigate his background before his appointment.
The corrections are as follows:
The Review previously wrote, “[i]n a now-deleted article published on the Hoover Institution’s website, Bai falsely described Patriot Conceptions as an advocacy and resource hub for military families struggling with fertility.” Given that the article no longer exists, the Review clarifies this by correcting the original claim based on Patriot Conceptions description of their services, “In a now-deleted article published on the Hoover Institution's website, Bai described Patriot Conceptions as an advocacy and resource hub for military families struggling with fertility. The article failed to mention Bai’s extensive business interest with Chinese nationals. Instead, Bai wrote that Patriot Conceptions offered links and resources for military families seeking surrogacy.”
The statement “Concerns surrounding Bai’s firm highlight the broader national-security risks associated with foreign state influence, particularly the possibility that surrogacy could be abused by the CCP to use its citizens' U.S. citizenship…" as well as the statement, “Bai’s connections to the [PLA], together with prior concerns about his activities potentially facilitating Chinese espionage....” have been corrected to “Bai's internship program’s ties to a Chinese company founded by a PLA officer actively serving in a Chinese intelligence unit, together with a Hawaii lawmaker’s decision to alert the FBI to counterintelligence concerns about the program, raise questions about the due diligence conducted before Bai’s affiliation with Hoover.”
The statement, “Last week, a surrogate identified as “Judy” came forward when she discovered she was carrying the child of reclusive Chinese billionaire Xu Bo, who has allegedly sired over 300 children, all of whom gained U.S. citizenship via U.S.-based surrogacy,” has been corrected to “Last week, a Patriot Conceptions surrogate identified as “Judy” came forward when she discovered she was carrying the child of reclusive Chinese billionaire Xu Bo. Bo has allegedly sired as many as 300 children, a number of whom gained U.S. citizenship via U.S.-based surrogacy.
The Review previously wrote, “The internship program was ultimately shut down due to concerns about foreign espionage and mistreatment of interns.” After confirming directly with Congressman LoPresti, we have added to the statement with a quote directly from him. “The internship program was ultimately shut down by the speaker after I expressed national security and other concerns to him and the FBI.” We further added LoPresti’s account of his obligations at the time of the internship. “What no one knew was that I had secretly been working on targeted counter-intelligence and public corruption tasks for the FBI since my first term in office. And then this whole thing just landed in my lap - probably because I ended up as chair of the committee on military and international affairs. I informed the Speaker about my concerns with the internship program and encouraged him to not only take action but reach out to the FBI directly. I had, of course, already informed my partners there to expect his call and to consider looking into it themselves. The whole thing was quickly shut down and swept under the rug.”
