「布魯克林之王」陳善庄：親中共的紐約權力掮客
How a Criminal With Close Ties to China Became a New York Power Broker
On a Monday in March, in the heart of China’s capital, more than 2,000 delegates of a rubber-stamp advisory body to the authoritarian government of President Xi Jinping gathered for their annual meeting.
3月的一個星期一，在中國首都的中心地帶，2000多名代表齊聚一堂參加年度會議，他們是習近平主席的威權政府的一個橡皮章顧問機構的成員。
One mission of the men and women in attendance was to spread the global influence of China’s Communist Party. Of the throngs of party officials, generals and business executives who watched as Mr. Xi took the stage, just 20 people had been invited to represent the country’s vast diaspora, including a single person from the United States: a 69-year-old man from Brooklyn named John Chan.
與會者的使命之一是傳播中國共產黨的全球影響力。在觀看習近平登台演講的大批黨政官員、將軍和企業高管中，僅有20人受邀代表中國廣大僑民，其中一人來自美國：來自布魯克林的69歲老人陳善庄(John Chan)。
Mr. Chan’s participation reflected a remarkable proximity to the highest levels of power in China, experts said, and marked him as a person on whom the country’s leaders might call for favors. But it was remarkable, too, because of his position at home: He has operated as a power broker in America’s largest city, with immense sway over an important subset of New York politics.
專家認為，陳善庄的參與反映了他與中國最高權力層非同尋常接近的關係，也標誌著他是一個國家領導人可能會向其尋求幫助的人。但他的不尋常之處還在於他在美國的地位：他一直是美國最大城市的權力掮客，對紐約政治的某個重要群體有著巨大的影響力。
For years, Mr. Chan has exerted influence over the city’s ethnic Chinese communities — reaching into back rooms and political clubhouses from Sunset Park in Brooklyn to Manhattan’s Chinatown to Flushing in Queens — to help sway elections, all without drawing much attention.
多年來，陳善庄一直對紐約市的華裔社區施加著影響，從布魯克林的日落公園到曼哈頓的唐人街，再到皇后區的法拉盛，他可以走入閉門會議和政治會所，幫助左右選舉，而這一切都沒有引起太多關注。
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But lately, federal investigations into foreign influence efforts have swirled around city and state government in New York. Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with conspiring to accept illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkey. He has pleaded not guilty. One of his top aides, an Asian affairs director with ties to China, had her homes searched in an investigation by Brooklyn federal prosecutors who have separately brought cases against people they suspect of being Chinese agents.
The same prosecutors recently accused an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul of serving the Chinese government by blocking Taiwanese officials from the governor’s office.
負責該調查的檢察官最近還指控紐約州長凱西·霍格爾的一名助手為中國政府服務，阻斷台灣官員與州長辦公室的往來。
Mr. Chan, now 70, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the investigations. But against the backdrop of recent events, he has stood out nonetheless, both for his overt connections to the Chinese government and for his ability to influence American elections up and down the ballot.
現年70歲的陳善庄並未在調查中被指控有任何不當行為。但在最近發生的事件中，他因與中國政府的公開關係及他影響美國選舉的能力而引發關注。
He has done it in part through a network of nonprofits that he and his allies control, directing money, staffing and votes to his favored candidates and organizing demonstrations against anyone opposed to Mr. Xi or his policies.
他與盟友控制著一個非營利組織網路，將資金、人員和選票投向他支持的候選人，並組織示威遊行抗議任何反對習近平或其政策的人。
His targets have been politicians on either side of the aisle who might be perceived as acting against the interests of the Chinese government, records and interviews show — by supporting Hong Kong’s anti-Beijing protests, for instance, or attending a reception for a visiting dignitary from Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own.
記錄和訪談顯示，他的目標是那些被認為可能有損中國政府利益的兩黨政客，比如支持香港的反北京抗議活動，或者出席來訪台灣政要的招待會，台灣是中國聲稱擁有主權的民主島嶼。
Just weeks ago, he helped unseat a Taiwan-born Democratic incumbent in a State Senate race in Brooklyn. It was the only Senate seat the Democrats lost this cycle.
就在幾週前，一位出生於台灣的民主黨現任議員在布魯克林的州參議院選舉中落選，而陳善庄在其中發揮了作用。這是民主黨人在本輪選舉中失去的唯一一個參議院席位。
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And in 2022, Mr. Chan’s support for a little-known congressional candidate in New York City probably influenced the outcome of the Democratic primary in the race, leading to the defeat of a Taiwan-born state assemblywoman.
2022年，陳善庄對紐約市一位名不見經傳的國會候選人的支持可能影響了民主黨初選的結果，導致一位出生於台灣的女性州議員落選。
Mr. Chan did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and he eventually declined, through his lawyer, to answer written questions sent in English and Chinese.
陳善庄沒有回應多次置評請求，並最終通過律師拒絕了對以中英雙語形式提出的書面問題作出答覆。
Officials who have gotten on his bad side described him as a daunting political foe.
與他不和的官員將他描述為一個難以對付的政治對手。
“I’ve never seen a Chinese American go abroad and sit in these meetings that are openly C.C.P.-driven and then come back and brag about it,” said one of those officials, State Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Queens Democrat, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. “This is a whole different level of brazen propaganda.”
「我從沒見過一個美籍華人像他那樣，到處參加那些公開由中共主導的會議，回來後還大肆吹噓，」其中一名官員、皇后區民主黨人、州議員榮恩·金說。「這是一種完全不同程度的無恥政治宣傳。」
Mr. Chan has participated in trips to China, paid for by his business association and with the support of the Chinese Consulate, with more than a dozen state lawmakers and business executives. The most recent occurred last December.
陳善庄曾與十多位州議員和企業高管一起多次前往中國，出行資金由他的商會提供，且相關行程是在中國領事館的支持下進行的。最近的一次是在去年12月。
Such trips are not illegal, and local, state and federal lawmakers have been making similar journeys for years.
這些行程不算非法，地方、州和聯邦立法者多年來一直有類似的行程。
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Still, the Beijing meeting that Mr. Chan attended in March was a session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top organization in China’s United Front system — a network of groups that seek to deepen the Communist Party’s influence inside China and globally.
但陳善庄在3月參加的是中國人民政治協商會議，這是中國統一戰線系統的最高組織，該系統是一個旨在增強中國共產黨在中國和全球影響力的團體網路。
In New York, Mr. Chan founded a business association; a Brooklyn-based nonprofit advocating Asian American rights; and a group for people from his hometown in China. They have helped to promote Beijing’s political agenda, according to a New York Times review of Chinese-language articles and videos, which identified dozens of events in New York City attended by Chinese officials.
在紐約，陳善庄創辦了一個商會、一個位於布魯克林的非營利組織，倡導亞裔美國人的權利，以及一個為他的中國同鄉服務的團體。據《紐約時報》對中文文章和影片的查閱，它們幫助推動了北京的政事議程，其中涉及中國官員在紐約市出席的數十場活動。
Besides the trips Mr. Chan led to China, he has also appeared at several events with Ms. Hochul and Mr. Adams, most recently mingling with the mayor at a Brooklyn festival in February.
除了他帶領的訪華之旅外，他還與州長霍格爾和市長亞當斯一起參加了多次活動，最近一次是在2月與市長一起參加了布魯克林的一個節日慶典。
Throughout it all, perhaps the most extraordinary element of Mr. Chan’s rise to prominence in New York politics was not his ties to the Chinese Communist Party, but a part of his personal history he has taken pains to hide from his supporters: that he was a felon, having pleaded guilty, in another life, to human smuggling and heroin trafficking.
在陳善庄的紐約政壇崛起過程中，最不尋常的也許不是他與中共的關係，而是他刻意向支持者隱瞞的一段個人經歷：他曾經是重刑犯，曾承認犯下走私人口和販運海洛因的罪行。
From smuggler to informant
從走私者到線人
When he first arrived in New York City more than 30 years ago, Mr. Chan had already been a member of a Chinese crime organization.
30多年前，當陳善庄第一次來到紐約時，他已經是一個華人犯罪組織的成員。
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As a young man in the 1970s, he had escaped the poverty and chaos of China under Mao Zedong by sneaking into Hong Kong, then a British colony. There he joined a gang, according to a 2022 Chinese-language profile in which he was interviewed at a Brooklyn restaurant he owned.
Emigrating to New York, he joined the Wo Lee Kwan triad and got into the lucrative business of smuggling Chinese citizens into the United States, court documents show. In China such smugglers are known as “snakeheads,” and at the time they charged about $40,000 per person for the journey, with the migrants usually routed through other countries before arriving in the United States.
法庭文件顯示，移民到紐約後，他加入了三合會組織「和利群」，並開始從事將中國人偷渡到美國的賺錢生意。在中國，這種走私者被稱為「蛇頭」，當時他們收取每人大約4萬美元的路費，這些移民通常會經由其它國家抵達美國。
At the same time that he was running his criminal operation, Mr. Chan was emerging as an important figure in New York’s Chinese immigrant community — as a restaurateur and as an activist.
在從事犯罪活動的同時，作為餐館老闆和活動人士，陳善庄逐漸成為紐約華人移民社區的重要人物。
In 1999 he organized a protest of the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, which American officials said was a targeting error but which many Chinese considered a deliberate act.
1999年，他組織了一次抗議美國轟炸中國駐南斯拉夫貝爾格勒大使館的活動，美國官員稱該事件是一次目標選定失誤，但許多中國人認為是蓄意行為。
In 2000, one of the companies he founded, a production firm, employed Winnie Greco, the Adams aide and Asian affairs liaison whose homes would be searched 24 years later by federal authorities, records show.
記錄顯示，2000年，他創辦的一家製作公司僱傭了亞當斯的助手和亞洲事務聯絡員鄭祺蓉(Winnie Greco)。24年後，聯邦當局搜查了她的家。
His rise was interrupted in July 2001, when he and three of his accomplices were charged with, among other things, smuggling Chinese migrants inside shipping containers at ports in Washington State.
陳善庄的崛起在2001年7月一度中斷，當時他和他的三名同夥被指控在華盛頓州的港口用集裝箱偷運中國移民。
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In September 2002, Mr. Chan, also known as Chen Shanzhuang and Ah Jong, stood before a federal judge in Lower Manhattan and prepared to take responsibility for what he had done.
2002年9月，又名「阿庄」(Ah Jong，音)的陳善庄站在曼哈頓下城的一位聯邦法官面前，要面對自己的所作所為的後果。
He faced a potential lifetime prison sentence if convicted. But Mr. Chan also had information that could help bring down a murderous Chinatown crime boss named Frank Ma, whose hit man had once forced two men to kneel in front of a gravestone before he shot them in the head. One F.B.I. agent called Mr. Ma “the last of the Asian godfathers.”
如果罪名成立，他可能面臨終身監禁。但陳善庄掌握著可以扳倒一個兇殘的唐人街犯罪頭目的信息，此人名叫弗蘭克·馬，他的殺手曾強迫兩個人跪在墓碑前，然後開槍射他們的頭。一名聯邦調查局特工稱其為「最後一個亞洲教父」。
In January 2008, after assisting investigators from jail for more than five years, Mr. Chan stood before the same judge again.
2008年1月，在獄中協助調查人員已有五年多的陳善庄再次站在同一位法官面前。
“I decided to cooperate with the government to begin to make up for the harm I have done,” Mr. Chan told the judge, Denny Chin. “If you allow me to return to my family, I will never again break the law.”
「我決定與政府合作，以彌補我造成的傷害，」陳善庄告訴法官陳卓光(Denny Chin)。「如果您允許我回到家人身邊，我再也不會犯法。」
He had pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering that included human smuggling and trafficking more than three kilos of heroin, and another charge of operating illegal gambling parlors. He was sentenced to time served and released. Mr. Ma was arrested and, in 2010, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
他承認犯有敲詐罪，包括走私人口和販運超過三公斤的海洛因，以及另一項經營非法賭場的罪名。他被判刑滿獲釋。弗蘭克·馬被捕，並於2010年被定罪，判處終身監禁。
At Mr. Chan’s sentencing, Judge Chin noted his “extensive cooperation” in the case against Mr. Ma. “The results were quite good,” the judge said. “The Ma organization was dismantled.”
在對陳善庄的判決中，陳卓光提到了他在針對弗蘭克·馬的案件中的「廣泛合作」。「結果相當好，」法官說。「馬的組織被瓦解了。」
Through his lawyer, Joel Cohen, Mr. Chan declined to discuss his criminal past.
通過他的律師喬爾·科恩，陳善庄拒絕討論自己的犯罪歷史。
‘The King of Brooklyn’
「布魯克林之王」
Fast-forward to 2014, and United States Representative Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat, was issuing a proclamation that declared July 26, “John Chan Day.”
時間快進到2014年，來自皇后區的民主黨眾議員孟昭文發布公告，宣布7月26日為「陳善庄日」。
“Since his arrival to the United States,” Ms. Meng wrote, “Mr. Chan has pursued and exemplified the American dream.”
「自從來到美國，」孟昭文寫道，「陳先生就一直在追求並實踐著美國夢。」
Asked recently about Mr. Chan’s efforts to influence U.S. elections, she said in a statement: “I am totally against any foreign government influencing or manipulating our democracy.” She said she had been unaware of his criminal record.
最近被問及陳善庄影響美國選舉的行動時，孟昭文在一份聲明中表示：「我完全反對任何外國政府影響或操縱我們的民主。」她說她不知道他有犯罪記錄。
The main vehicle for Mr. Chan’s transformation was a nonprofit he had formed to raise the profile of Asian Americans in New York politics and call attention to anti-Asian hate crimes.
陳善庄脫胎換骨的主要工具是他成立的一個非營利組織，該組織旨在提高亞裔美國人在紐約政界的地位，並呼籲人們關注反亞裔仇恨犯罪。
Operating from his now-shuttered restaurant in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, the group, Asian American Community Empowerment, and other organizations he founded worked to help Chinese immigrants navigate the city’s bureaucracy.
他在布魯克林日落公園的一家現已關門的餐館裡開展工作，他創立的組織美國亞裔社團聯合總會和其他組織致力於幫助中國移民應對紐約的官僚機構。
Soon, the Chinese-language press was calling Mr. Chan “The King of Brooklyn,” and letters of support were pouring in from Hillary Clinton, Senator Chuck Schumer and other prominent figures.
很快，中文媒體開始稱陳善庄為「布魯克林之王」，希拉蕊·柯林頓、參議員查克·舒默和其他知名人士也紛紛來信表示支持。
From this perch, Mr. Chan has promoted his favored candidates and gone after those who displeased him. His effort to unseat Iwen Chu was a prime example of both.
從這個位置上，陳善庄為他喜歡的候選人助選，並打壓那些他不喜歡的人。他出力促成曲怡文連任失敗一事就是對這兩種做法的最佳體現。
As a newly elected Democratic state senator from Brooklyn, Ms. Chu attended a Manhattan banquet held by Tsai Ing-wen, then Taiwan’s president, in March 2023.
2023年3月，作為布魯克林新當選的民主黨州參議員，曲怡文參加了時任台灣總統蔡英文在曼哈頓舉辦的宴會。
During the same visit by Ms. Tsai, Mr. Chan led protests outside Ms. Tsai’s hotel, and, speaking into a microphone, had said she “will surely become a sinner for all eternity” — an insult commonly used by the Chinese government.
在蔡英文來訪期間，陳善庄在蔡英文下榻的酒店外領導了抗議活動，並對著麥克風說，她「必將成為千古罪人」——這是中國政府常用的一種侮辱。
When Ms. Chu, who was born in Taiwan, came up for re-election this year, Mr. Chan threw his support behind her Republican opponent, Steve Chan, a former New York City police sergeant who was born in Hong Kong. (He is not related to John Chan.)
當出生於台灣的曲怡文今年競選連任時，陳善庄支持了她的共和黨對手、出生於香港的前紐約市警長陳學理。（他與陳善庄沒有親屬關係。）
In an interview in September, Steve Chan attempted to distance himself from Mr. Chan, and his campaign manager noted that he had returned a donation from Mr. Chan.
在9月的一次採訪中，陳學理試圖與陳善庄保持距離，他的競選經理表示，他退回了陳善庄的一筆捐款。
“If the man is associated with the C.C.P.,” Steve Chan said, “the best we can do is remain cordial.”
「如果這個人與中共有關的話，」陳學理說，「我們最多只能做到與他保持友好。」
“Can we be allies? No. Can we be friends? Sure,” he added. “But it ends right there.”
「我們能結盟嗎？不。我們能做朋友嗎？當然，」他補充道。「但關係也就到此為止了。」
Two weeks later, he joined John Chan onstage at an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. With a hand draped over the candidate’s shoulder, John Chan said to a crowd in Mandarin, “You must vote for him, and send him to the State Senate!”
兩周後，他在慶祝中華人民共和國成立75週年的紀念活動中和陳善庄一起出現在台上。陳善庄的手搭在陳學理的肩膀上，用普通話對台下的觀眾說，「一定把你的票投他一票，讓（把）他送到參議院寶座！」
Steve Chan defeated Ms. Chu on Nov. 5.
11月5日，陳學理在競選中擊敗了曲怡文。
It was far from the only race Mr. Chan has involved himself in.
這遠不是陳善庄介入的唯一一場選舉。
He backed a candidate to run against Mr. Kim, a Korean American who has represented Flushing in the State Assembly for the past 12 years, in this summer’s Democratic primary. Mr. Kim, who had taken delegations to Taiwan and sponsored a resolution celebrating Taiwan Heritage Day, prevailed, but he said Mr. Chan had made life more difficult for him by endorsing his opponent through several groups and fund-raising for him.
在今年夏天的民主黨初選中，他支持了一名挑戰金兌錫的候選人。過去12年裡一直在州議會中代表法拉盛的韓裔美國人金兌錫曾率代表團訪問台灣，並促成了一項慶祝「台灣傳統日」的決議。金兌錫最後在選舉中勝出，但他表示，陳善庄通過多個組織為他的競選對手背書，並幫其籌款，這給他的勝選增加了難度。
In another race, for a congressional seat representing parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn in 2022, Mr. Chan targeted a candidate, Yuh-Line Niou, who, as a state assemblywoman, had taken part in events with Taiwan officials. Mr. Chan backed a lesser-known contender in the Democratic primary who most likely siphoned off votes in the Chinese American community. Ms. Niou’s major opponent, Mr. Goldman, a former prosecutor who is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, won the seat and still holds it.
在另一場2022年競選代表曼哈頓部分地區和布魯克林的國會眾議員席位的選舉中，陳善庄將目標對準了候選人牛毓琳，她在任州議員期間曾參與過有台灣官員參加的活動。陳善庄在民主黨初選中支持了一位沒什麼名氣的參選人，後者的參選在很大程度上只有分裂華裔美國人社區選票的作用。牛毓琳的主要對手古德曼贏得了該席位，後者是一名前檢察官，也是利維·斯特勞斯財富的繼承人，他直到今天仍是代表該區的眾議員。
And when Mr. Chan wished to see another person take control of a Brooklyn State Assembly seat that had been held by Peter J. Abbate, a Democrat, for more than 30 years, the incumbent’s lengthy time in office served as little obstacle.
民主黨人彼得·J·阿巴特任職布魯克林州議員已超過30年，而當陳善庄想要看到另一個人坐上這一席位時，長期在職的履歷並不是什麼障礙。
Mr. Chan supported his candidate, Lester Chang, with donations and fund-raisers, and Mr. Chang, a Republican, defeated Mr. Abbate in 2022. During his time as an assemblyman, Mr. Chang has led a delegation to China. The trip was attended by John Chan and was paid for by a business group he founded.
陳善庄支持的候選人是鄭永佳，陳為他捐款並幫其籌款。共和黨人鄭永佳在2022年的選舉中戰勝了阿巴特。在擔任州議員期間，鄭永佳率領了一個代表團訪問中國。此行由陳善庄創立的一個商業組織出資，他本人也一同前往。
After the election, Mr. Chan took credit for the upset, bragging, “We defeated the fool who had been in office for 35 years.”
那次選舉後，陳善庄並不諱言自己在把阿巴特拉下馬這件事上起到的作用，他自誇說，「我們打敗了（在任）35年的一個笨蛋。」
Mr. Chang did not respond to requests for comment.
鄭永佳沒有回覆置評請求。
Celebrating ‘the motherland’
歌頌「祖國」
Along the way, Mr. Chan has also taken to the streets himself, sometimes even clashing with Chinese dissident demonstrators.
一直以來，陳善庄自己也經常走上街頭，有時甚至會與中國異見示威者發生衝突。
After the protest aimed at Taiwan’s president in March 2023, he traveled to San Francisco last November to organize groups welcoming a visit by Mr. Xi. The demonstrations turned violent as supporters of the Chinese leader, including one of Mr. Chan’s close associates, clashed with protesters. Mr. Chan was recorded while arguing with protesters, The Washington Post reported. On the same visit, he attended an invitation-only reception with Mr. Xi.
在2023年3月那次針對台灣總統的抗議活動之後，陳善庄在11月來到舊金山，組織團體歡迎習近平到訪。那次遊行演變為暴力事件，中國領導人的支持者（包括一名陳善庄的親信）與抗議者發生衝突。據《華盛頓郵報》報導，陳善庄被拍到與抗議者發生爭執。在那次訪問中，他還參加了一場與習近平見面的邀請制招待會。
In July, Mr. Chan’s nonprofit hosted a “pop-up” branch of the Chinese Consulate in Brooklyn staffed by four consular officials. Such unofficial outposts of China’s foreign ministry are part of a “gray zone” of Chinese government efforts to reach into diaspora communities, according to a report by the Jamestown Foundation, which studies Chinese government influence.
And after the arrest of the Hochul aide, Linda Sun, in September focused attention on possible influence efforts emanating from the Chinese Consulate in New York, and Ms. Hochul called for the consul general, Huang Ping, to be expelled, Mr. Chan threw him an elaborate farewell ceremony. (Ms. Sun has pleaded not guilty.)
在霍格爾的助理孫雯9月被捕後，人們開始關注中國駐紐約領事館發起的潛在影響力活動。在霍格爾要求驅逐總領事黃屏後，陳善庄為黃屏舉辦了一場精心組織的歡送儀式。（孫雯已拒絕認罪。）
At a restaurant in Flushing, a crowd gathered as Mr. Chan led the consul general onto the stage. They posed for photos with Lester Chang, the assemblyman Mr. Chan had backed.
在法拉盛的餐館裡，陳善庄將黃屏領上台，台下擠滿了人。他們與陳善庄支持的州議員鄭永佳一起拍照。
Mr. Chan praised Mr. Huang’s tenure as a top Chinese diplomat in New York City — and saluted the party that has ruled China since 1949.
陳善庄對黃屏作為中國在紐約最高外交官的任期予以稱讚，並向1949年以來一直統治中國的共產黨致敬。
“Under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,” Mr. Chan said in Mandarin, “the motherland has made tremendous achievements in the economy, science and technology, culture and stability, making overseas Chinese feel very proud.”
「在中國共產黨的強大領導下，」陳善庄用普通話說道，「祖國在經濟、科技、文化和穩定方面取得了卓越成就，讓海外華人深感自豪。」
