Democrat Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), who voted against the creation of the House committee to investigate China, is reportedly the “honorary president” of the non-profit that shared staff with alleged front groups from a Chinese intelligence service.
The Daily Caller reported that Chu, whose Chinese name is Zhao Meixin, joined the All America Chinese Youth Federation (AACYF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, in 2012 and is listed on the group’s website as the “honorary president.”
The Caller determined that there had been four people — Chi Honghu, Florence Fang, Zhu Bingfeng, and Ren Xiangdong — who have been in various leadership positions with the non-profit since the congresswoman has been involved. And these individuals have been intertwined with various other organizations that allegedly work as “Chinese front groups” for a Chinese government agency, United Front Work Department (UFWD).
Government agencies, legislative bodies, and other groups have considered UFWD to be the “central organ” of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence efforts around the world and “in concert with Chinese intelligence operatives,” the Caller acknowledged.
Breitbart News has also noted that UFWD is a part of an “elaborate network of well-funded influence operations that infiltrate and co-opt groups outside the Chinese Communist Party” and is “basically a system for injecting the ideological toxins of Chinese Communism into every group that looks vulnerable and useful.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Caller also explained that the non-profit, itself, also interacted with and supported UFWD front groups during the congresswoman’s tenure:
Just months after Chu became an “honorary president” at AACYF in October 2012, the group began advertising a recruitment drive on behalf of the “Thousand Talents Plan” in March 2013, according to an archived version of the Chinese-language website.
The Thousand Talents Plan is a Chinese government program originally designed to recruit “high-quality overseas experts” and allegedly incentivize them to transfer U.S. intellectual property to China, according to Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
An archived version of the Thousand Talents Plan’s website states the program is managed by the Western Returned Scholars Association, which is a UFWD front group, according to the USCC. The Thousand Talents Plan is also a means of economic espionage, FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a 2020 event held at the Washington, D.C., Hudson Institute concerning Chinese government influence operations.
However, when the congresswoman voted against the formation of the House Select Committee, she claimed, in a statement from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which she chairs, that the committee could lead to anti-Asian violence and hate.
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), who will be a member of the select committee, told the Caller that the congresswoman’s vote against the committee has ignored the “facts and reality” that the committee is meant to “combat the CCP, not the Chinese people.” Referring to the widely bipartisan vote on the passage, he added, “The vast majority of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle supported the creation of this committee.”
Breitbart News reported this month that the House had a widely bipartisan vote (365 to 65) to create the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Notably, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Chu.
The committee will ultimately investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
