Blog Post: The CCP Is Working to Infiltrate State and Local Governments
This week, China marked the 75th anniversary of Communist Party rule with President Xi Jinping calling for the Chinese people to maintain their faith in the party and the army in the times ahead. Meanwhile in America – cognizant of the ever-present threat that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses – conservative lawmakers wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for answers on the extent of Chinese influence operations and espionage happening on our shores.
Far from just focusing on federal targets, China has been steadily working at the state and local level to compile political intelligence, cultivate relationships with up-and-coming politicians, and otherwise find promising vectors through which to advance the CCP’s ambitions. Running the gamut from top to bottom, governors are ranked on their friendliness to China’s interests even as CCP agents attend local PTA meetings.
The following examples highlight why the Protecting America Initiative released 25 specific policy recommendations for states this week. State legislatures and governors around the country should consider these proposals immediately to help guard against CCP influence. Any weakness that can be exploited – like the following examples – is on the table for the CCP.
California Politicians Among Those Targeted by Chinese Spy
A Chinese intelligence operative named Fang Fang – known as Christine Fang – spent years cultivating relationships with local politicians and rising political stars, gathering political intelligence and ingratiating herself with local political figures.
Fang was enrolled at California State University East Bay and used her position as the head of the Chinese Student Association and the local Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs to befriend politicos and organize “high-profile events” that hosted guests from politics, business, as well as Chinese officials.
She became a fixture in political circles by connecting local politicians with donors, and her contacts have been described as a “who's who of local Bay Area politicos.”
In a prime example of why local politicians are an attractive target to Chinese operatives, Fang began building a relationship with then-Dublin City councilmember Eric Swalwell before he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She raised money for Swalwell as a campaign bundler and “developed close ties to Swalwell’s office.” As a House member, Swalwell would sit on the House Intelligence Committee and had access to sensitive U.S. secrets.
Fang also attended multiple conferences for U.S. mayors around the country, even engaging in sexual or romantic relationships with two different mayors.
Former Aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul Charged
Linda Sun – who worked for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as deputy chief diversity officer before joining his successor Kathy Hochul as deputy chief of staff – was arrested and federally charged along with her husband Chris Hu with acting as undisclosed agents for the Chinese government.
Sun and Hu were charged with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering.
Among other things, Hu is accused of forging invitation letters from New York government officials in order to facilitate travel by Chinese government officials to the U.S., engaging in political activities to benefit the CCP such as blocking representatives of Taiwan from obtaining meetings with New York officials, and changing messaging for high-level state officials on sensitive issues for the CCP.
In return, Sun and her husband received millions of dollars in payments, lavish gifts, and even employment for family members in China.
Top New York City Aides Linked to the CCP
Winnie Greco – Director of Asian Affairs for New York City Mayor Eric Adams – serves as the mayor’s Chinese liaison and is currently under federal investigation after the FBI raided her home earlier this year.
Greco played a “central role Greco played in Adams’ relationship to the Chinese government and local Chinese leaders who were typically friendly to the government” while simultaneously steering the mayor away from events linked to Taiwan.
Greco has attended multiple meetings hosted by groups linked to the CCP’s ongoing “united front” propaganda and influence campaign. She has been listed as a “consultant” by two CCP-backed organizations, her company has reportedly received money from the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CCP, and she has “repeatedly attended events organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries” – a group described by the U.S. Department of State as “a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments” that seeks “to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda.”
Elsewhere in New York City, Lin Gui’an – a top aide to recently resigned police commissioner Edward Caban – has also been linked to the CCP, having previously served for 12 years as the vice chairman of the Fujian Changle Nanxiang Benevolent Association of Eastern America, a group associated with a web of CCP-controlled organizations that work to advance China’s “united front” campaign.
Lin – who also has “close ties” to Mayor Adams’ aide Winnie Greco – “also received an award from the Dong Guan Association, which is the same China-funded group which listed Greco as a ‘consultant’ from 2011 until 2023.”
Bottom Line
China has a comprehensive strategy for influencing the United States at all levels – from local communities, to state government, to Washington D.C. It would be a mistake to discount the threat that the CCP poses in subverting our institutions to further China’s ambition and goal and states need to act now to fight back.