Wow, that is so thin it is transparent. If this is the sort of 'proof' that we are going to find then I am glad you posted the ref here so that I could add yet another kook to the list of those whose privacy/security rantings and books I can ignore. The biggest danger to long-term privacy projects is not the risk of taking advantage of an opportune partnership with a government agency when incentives align, it is conspiracy nutjobs poisoning the well with their paranoia and delusions.
Funded by Open Technology Fund (OTF) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Technology_Fund
Which is funded by Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Asia. It had a few reboots but was created as a CIA program in 1951 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Asia_(Committee_for...) to blast shortwaves into China from Manilla to try to overthrow the Chinese government. Rebooted more recently since the advent of the great firewall of China.