This January, more than a dozen hometown associations, all with ties to the 
consulate and six of them tax-exempt nonprofits, put on a lively fund-raising dinner for Susan Zhuang (pic), a Chinese immigrant running for re-election to City Council after biting a police officer at a homeless shelter protest.
Zhuang had won her seat in 2023 after old photos surfaced of her opponent in the Democratic primary, Wai-Yee Chan, at a Manhattan rally for Hong Kong democracy. At the time of the rally, Zhuang shared a post on Facebook accusing Chan of “supporting violent Hong Kong independence.”
When the two women later ran against each other for City Council, prominent members of several community groups recirculated the rally photos on WeChat and said Chan held extreme positions.
Some community leaders urged Chan to take out newspaper advertisements holding the Chinese flag, “to show what side she’s on,” recalled Grace Safarik, her campaign manager. “It was bananas.” The candidate did not run any such ads. Hometown associations soon dumped Chan and threw their support behind Zhuang.
Since then, Zhuang has appeared alongside consulate officials on at least 30 occasions. As a City Council member, Zhuang has distributed more than $300,000 in city funds to tax-exempt Chinese American nonprofits that backed her. The majority of the funds went to organizations with close ties to Beijing.
At the January fund-raiser, some of the same group leaders showed up to the Fortune Palace restaurant in Brooklyn to support her again. Atop lavender tablecloths were signs denoting the names of various hometown organizations. That day, Zhuang’s campaign raised more than $20,000 in donations.
One donor, Huang Yirong of the Zhanjiang Association of America — a nonprofit that shares a house with the councilwoman’s campaign office — had helped organize opposition to the visiting president of Taiwan in 2023. Huang said his group did not endorse or donate to Zhuang’s campaign. “I support her, and some of our members support her. We give and support individually.”
The emcee of the event, Joseph Luo, president of the American Association of Cantonese, had met in China in 2023 with leaders of groups belonging to the CCP’s United Front.
“We want her to be re-elected. Re-elected!” shouted John Yu of the Guangdong Association of America, a tax-exempt nonprofit that has hosted many events with the consulate.
Benny Lau, the president of the Guangdong Association, said that while individual members supported the candidate, the group had not crossed the line into direct political advocacy.
Zhuang: “I find it insulting that Asian American elected officials constantly have to defend our heritage because of these guilty-by-association rumors.”
“racism” again, typical CCP tactic to mislead the audience — no, it’s not about “Asian American”; it’s about your ties to Beijing and the CCP
Zhuang is expected to win her second term; no one is running against her.
consulate and six of them tax-exempt nonprofits, put on a lively fund-raising dinner for Susan Zhuang (pic), a Chinese immigrant running for re-election to City Council after biting a police officer at a homeless shelter protest.
Zhuang had won her seat in 2023 after old photos surfaced of her opponent in the Democratic primary, Wai-Yee Chan, at a Manhattan rally for Hong Kong democracy. At the time of the rally, Zhuang shared a post on Facebook accusing Chan of “supporting violent Hong Kong independence.”
When the two women later ran against each other for City Council, prominent members of several community groups recirculated the rally photos on WeChat and said Chan held extreme positions.
Some community leaders urged Chan to take out newspaper advertisements holding the Chinese flag, “to show what side she’s on,” recalled Grace Safarik, her campaign manager. “It was bananas.” The candidate did not run any such ads. Hometown associations soon dumped Chan and threw their support behind Zhuang.
Since then, Zhuang has appeared alongside consulate officials on at least 30 occasions. As a City Council member, Zhuang has distributed more than $300,000 in city funds to tax-exempt Chinese American nonprofits that backed her. The majority of the funds went to organizations with close ties to Beijing.
At the January fund-raiser, some of the same group leaders showed up to the Fortune Palace restaurant in Brooklyn to support her again. Atop lavender tablecloths were signs denoting the names of various hometown organizations. That day, Zhuang’s campaign raised more than $20,000 in donations.
One donor, Huang Yirong of the Zhanjiang Association of America — a nonprofit that shares a house with the councilwoman’s campaign office — had helped organize opposition to the visiting president of Taiwan in 2023. Huang said his group did not endorse or donate to Zhuang’s campaign. “I support her, and some of our members support her. We give and support individually.”
The emcee of the event, Joseph Luo, president of the American Association of Cantonese, had met in China in 2023 with leaders of groups belonging to the CCP’s United Front.
“We want her to be re-elected. Re-elected!” shouted John Yu of the Guangdong Association of America, a tax-exempt nonprofit that has hosted many events with the consulate.
Benny Lau, the president of the Guangdong Association, said that while individual members supported the candidate, the group had not crossed the line into direct political advocacy.
Zhuang: “I find it insulting that Asian American elected officials constantly have to defend our heritage because of these guilty-by-association rumors.”
“racism” again, typical CCP tactic to mislead the audience — no, it’s not about “Asian American”; it’s about your ties to Beijing and the CCP
Zhuang is expected to win her second term; no one is running against her.
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Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
China has gone to great lengths to stamp out global support of Taiwan.
After State Senator John Liu, who was born there, attended a meeting in New York with the Taiwanese president in 2019, “intermediaries” for the consulate contacted his office. They “made it clear that they x.com/byron_wan/stat…
Show more consulate contacted his office. They “made it clear that they x.com/byron_wan/stat…