In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America.
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Focus → deliver → America
Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture.
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pieces → publish → picture
You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
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You → find → pieces
New York’s Democratic primary on June 23 received considerable attention for a wave of successful candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
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primary → receive → America
But a scantly reported judicial election for the Queens Civil Court provides a lens into the prevalence of pro-Chinese Communist Party figures in the New York City politics — as well as the complex mix of private and community interests shaping this landscape.
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election → report → landscape
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PRC influence is not new, not least in New York, which has seen several instances of political aides and even elected officials linked to Beijing’s influence apparatus, also known as the United Front.
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which → see → Front
Political organizing by UF-linked groups seems to have made greater headway in southern Brooklyn compared with Flushing, which has a greater diversity of ethnic Chinese backgrounds, including a long-standing dissident community.
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which → link → community
A contentious 2024 primary campaign by Yi Andy Chen, backed by Fujianese groups with close ties to the Chinese government, ultimately failed to unseat incumbent State Assemblyman Ron Kim, but other UF-backed candidates won elections in the Bensonhurst area, as Republicans no less.
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candidates → back → Republicans
In the 2023 Democratic primary, candidate Edmond Wong, running for one of two vacant seats on the Queens Civil Court, stood out, both for his extensive list of political endorsements and for his ultimate showing at the top of the four candidates.
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Wong → run → candidates
Wong appears to have the backing of the Democratic Party establishment in Queens and seems to run in CCP-linked circles.
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Wong → appear → circles
In June, he gave a short campaign speech at the third inauguration ceremony of the Guizhou American Association, where the incoming president described one of the organization’s goals as integrating into mainstream society, strengthening cooperation between overseas Chinese groups, and promoting U.S.-China friendship under the guidance of the PRC Consulate.
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president → give → Consulate
Wong was praised by the president of the Shanghai Hometown Association, who had worked on the 2022 state assembly campaign for Lin Yu.
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who → praise → Yu
Lin had been strongly supported by the America Changle Association, whose leader was recently convicted for acting as a PRC agent and setting up an overseas Chinese police station in New York.
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leader → support → York
Falun Gong practitioners sued CACWA for violent assault, intimidation, and other abuses as part of an alleged persecution campaign in collaboration with the Chinese government.
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practitioners → sue → government
One of CACWA’s leaders, Michael Chu (Zhu Lichuang), held leadership positions in the New York Association for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China, an established UF organization that pushes Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, and has been lauded by Chinese state media for running a Flushing neighborhood watch group to improve community safety and cohesion in service of fulfilling the “China Dream” — a CCP propaganda phrase for restoring China’s national strength.
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that → hold → strength
None of these actions necessarily indicate CCP alignment or influence.
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None → indicate → alignment
Due process in a democratic system requires fair legal representation for both sides.
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process → require → sides
But a number of related incidents prompt an examination of a broader network of affiliated organizations and individuals.
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number → prompt → organizations
Pro-democracy activists in Flushing reported that an individual who campaigned regularly for Wong in downtown Flushing has frequently participated in anti-Falun Gong demonstrations and also confronted and even harassed dissidents.
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who → report → dissidents
Another fellow campaigner had also been previously spotted distributing pamphlets that enumerated in detail multiple reasons for America to support Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China.
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America → spot → China
Another self-identified longtime supporter of Wong’s candidacy was a nonprofit organization, the Asian American Attorneys Association.
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supporter → identify → candidacy
AAAA’s website congratulated Wong on his victory and displayed several campaign photos, including one of a named AAAA volunteer handing out flyers on polling day, and another of supporters at the law offices of iLead Group.
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website → congratulate → Group
The two partners of iLead Law Group, Chen Mingli and Ran Yanfei, also hold leadership positions in AAAA and have set up a network of several closely linked organizations, including the Fifth Avenue Entrepreneurs Club, a networking group for ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in America, and the nonprofit Community Legal Aid Center of New York.
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partners → hold → York
This network appears active in New York politics.
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network → appear → politics
In January 2024, iLead held a fundraising event for Andy Chen’s campaign as well as for Wendy Li, an NYC civil court judge running for a seat on the Queens County Surrogate’s Court.
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iLead → hold → Court
At iLead’s founding, which was covered in Chinese state media, a representative from then-NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s office presented the firm with a citation.
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representative → cover → citation
At the same time, these groups frequently interact with CCP-linked entities.
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groups → interact → entities
AAAA jointly hosted with 10 overseas Chinese groups a young professionals networking event in May, with a consul from the PRC Consulate in New York in attendance.
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AAAA → host → attendance
iLead helped to organize an American Chinese collaboration summit in November 2024, where it announced a strategic partnership agreement with the American Chinese United Association, which often echoes CCP rhetoric about uniting Chinese compatriots, participating in local politics, and promoting U.S.-China friendship.
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which → help → friendship
ACUA’s founder, Jason Lam, held multiple leadership positions in Chinese government and UF bodies.
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founder → hold → bodies
Also at the summit was John Lam, another figure with extensive CCP links, including as overseas advisor to the ACFROC, a known UF organization, and other leadership positions in provincial-level overseas Chinese federations.
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Lam → include → federations
The director of the iLead-linked Community Legal Aid Center, Wilson Wong, used to be the chairman of Better Chinatown USA, which organizes Lunar New Year and AAPI parades in cooperation with a FARA-registered Chinese-language media outlet.
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which → link → outlet
Despite their ostensibly inclusive titles, these parades have excluded participation by Taiwanese representatives and Hong Kong democracy activists, while inviting the PRC consul general in New York.
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parades → exclude → York
Reporters also witnessed another leader of Better Chinatown USA handing out red envelopes with cash to Chinese media reporters at a 2025 campaign rally for Adams.
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leader → witness → Adams
The stated goals of iLead and its affiliated organizations to promote the success of Chinese American entrepreneurs and legal professionals, and to provide much-needed services to underserved communities as they have through pro bono work, are all admirable, legitimate, and important.
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they → promote → work
But it is not clear why, for example, a professional networking event to help Chinese Americans succeed in America would require the participation of Chinese government representatives.
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Americans → help → representatives
And engaging in political campaigning and fundraising for candidates with known UF links shows at least some comfort in associating with and promoting these viewpoints.
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engaging → engage → viewpoints
Moreover, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations — such as AAAA — are not allowed under U.S. law to engage in political activities, which several CCP-linked overseas Chinese groups have run afoul of.
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groups → allow → which
This is not a clearcut case of a Beijing-directed influence operation.
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This → direct → operation
But relying on community leaders and organizations close to the Chinese government to provide public goods or political activism entrenches PRC presence in local communities.
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relying → rely → communities
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
