Taiwanese President’s Visit
Under the Freedom of Information Act, National Review obtained documents from the city government that reveal how Mr. Huang pressured Mr. Adams and the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the decision-making of local American officials.The documents show that Winnie Greco, a senior Chinese-American advisor to Mr. Adams, served as Mr. Huang’s contact. Additionally, weeks before Ms. Tsai’s itinerary was made public, Mr. Huang had pressured officials at New York City Hall.
On March 3 last year, a Chinese consulate official requested a call with Ms. Greco through email, citing an “emergency.” At that time, Ms. Tsai’s visit to the United States was not yet public, but media reports indicated she had such plans.
Ms. Greco forwarded the request to Edward Mermelstein, New York City’s commissioner for international affairs, and his team. However, due to redactions in the email made by City Hall, it is unclear how officials responded to the request or if the call even took place.
On March 15 last year, another Chinese consulate official asked Ms. Greco to arrange a dinner at Mr. Huang’s residence, inviting Mr. Adams to attend. The dinner was planned to coincide with Ms. Tsai’s visit to New York. Ms. Greco informed Mr. Mermelstein about this and requested the Chinese officials to fill out a meeting application form. However, the city government did not confirm whether the meeting took place, and the consulate did not respond to requests for comment.
By March 29 last year, Ms. Tsai held a banquet in New York City for overseas Taiwanese. Just hours before the banquet began, Mr. Huang wrote a warning letter at the last minute, which was passed to Mr. Adams by Ms. Greco. In the letter, he stated that he knew Mr. Adams, the deputy mayor, and staff at the Mayor’s Office were all invited, but he urged the city government to avoid any official contact with the Taiwanese president during her visit to New York City.
Paid Protesters
When Ms. Tsai arrived at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, she was met with over 300 Chinese protesters outside the entrance. According to Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, the protesters were allegedly recruited and paid $200 each by the consulate general of China in New York. One of the protest leaders, Lu Jianwang, was arrested by the FBI a month and a half later on charges of acting as an agent for the Chinese regime and helping to set up a secret police station for the CCP in New York City.Mr. Adams and his team had a connection with the accused Mr. Lu and his brother Lu Jianshun, who was in charge of the Changle Association, which organized underground Chinese police stations. Mr. Lu Jianshun donated $2,500 to Mr. Adams’ mayoral campaign in 2021, but after Mr. Lu Jianwang’s arrest last year, Mr. Adams returned the donation.
The incident between the Chinese consulate and Mr. Adams was not an isolated event. While Ms. Tsai was heading to California to attend a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the CCP’s interference continued. The Chinese consulate general in Los Angeles recruited around a thousand pro-CCP supporters to protest, paying them $400 per person.
Influence Operations
These events were part of the CCP’s strategy. In recent years, warnings from the federal government about links between the Chinese consulate and other criminal activities within the United States have increased. Last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned in a counterintelligence bulletin that the Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States were involved in influence operations.The consular district of the Chinese consulate in New York City includes New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island. In May last year, Liang Litang, founder of the “New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China,” was arrested by the FBI and accused of being a Chinese agent.
The indictment showed that Mr. Liang reported information on anti-CCP Chinese and Chinese-American organizations in the Boston area to officials at the Chinese consulate in New York City, including their names, political positions, and activities, and engaged in influence operations under their guidance.
Documented, a New York website for immigrant news, reported last month that the FBI is investigating the role of the Chinese consulate during the March 2023 anti-Taiwan protests and is interviewing members of the Chinese community.
After Mr. Adams was elected in 2021, he appeared publicly with Mr. Huang on several occasions. For example, on the evening of Jan. 26 this year, both of them attended a Chinese New Year dinner hosted by China Central Television (CCTV) in New York. The CCTV is the Chinese communist regime’s propaganda mouthpiece.
The Epoch Times reported in September last year on Ms. Greco’s connections to the CCP. It pointed out that she founded a company for the New York Sino Agricultural Sciences Organization in 2012 and opened an office in the town of Warwick in Orange County, New York, attempting to purchase a nearby state prison closed in 2011 but failed.
The next year, she established a food export subsidiary, Valley Fresh Direct, claiming to export products such as wine. It is worth noting that the location is close to the training base of New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, a non-profit arts company that promotes traditional Chinese performing arts but is frequently targeted by the CCP.
On Feb. 29, the FBI raided two homes of Winnie Greco in the Bronx. This investigation is headed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which has prosecuted several cases related to the CCP in recent years, including Mr. Lu Jianwang’s case.
