By: Hal C Clarke

In New York City, social clubs connected to China have quietly influenced local elections, targeting politicians who challenged Beijing while backing others aligned with the Communist Party’s policies, The New York Times first reported. These organizations, often tax-exempt nonprofits, have leveraged their networks to shape electoral outcomes in America’s largest city, The Times found.

Over the past several years, the groups have disrupted political careers. They helped unseat a state senator for attending a banquet with Taiwan’s president, condemned a City Council candidate on social media for supporting Hong Kong democracy, and pressured a congressional candidate who had publicly criticized China on television, according to The Times.

Most of these organizations are “hometown associations,” representing people from the same province or town in China. Some have existed for over a century, while many have sprung up in the past decade. Like other immigrant heritage clubs, they provide social connections, organize cultural events, and welcome newcomers. Yet The Times found that many have become extensions of China’s consulate in Midtown Manhattan, carrying out Beijing’s political agenda.

Group leaders often maintain family or business ties in China and fear retaliation if they oppose the government. Consulate officials have enlisted them to intimidate politicians who support Taiwan or cross other red lines. In one notable instance reported by The Times, a Chinese intelligence agent and several hometown leaders coordinated to pressure the same candidate.

Though the meddling may appear minor—targeting local politicians unlikely to influence U. S. foreign policy—experts told The Times that Beijing aims to suppress dissent in its diaspora before it spreads back home. “You never know which politician might eventually run for Congress at the national level, or become a presidential candidate,” Audrye Wong, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told The Times.

China’s influence machine is global and sophisticated. It has harassed exiles in Europe, bribed academics in the United Kingdom, targeted politicians in Canada, and built clandestine police stations worldwide to intimidate dissidents, The Times reported. Its efforts have been particularly impactful in New York City, which hosts approximately 600,000 ethnic Chinese residents.

Federal authorities have taken notice. In 2023, the FBI arrested leaders of the America Changle Association for operating a police station in their clubhouse. Last year, a former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul was indicted for conspiring with heads of two Chinese associations, whose political activities “were supervised, directed, and controlled” by Chinese officials, The Times first reported. FBI agents also interviewed Chinatown group leaders this summer regarding consulate pressure.

New evidence obtained by The Times shows consulate officials directly engaging hometown groups in pledges to support China and promote reunification with Taiwan. Videos posted online capture members vowing allegiance to the motherland and defending Beijing’s interests.

The Times identified more than 50 organizations with ties to China that have raised funds or endorsed candidates in New York over the past five years. Many were nonprofit charities, which are legally barred from electioneering. A spokesperson for the Chinese Consulate General denied interfering in U. S. politics, claiming their interactions “are open and transparent” and rejecting “malicious accusations,” as The Times reported.

In New York’s tightly contested races, these China-aligned groups can be influential. Politicians often court them, while the organizations gain access to government resources. Mayor Eric Adams, whose former aide resigned amid a federal investigation into possible Chinese influence, has received endorsements from at least nine such hometown groups in his re-election bid, The Times first reported.