NYnews Alert's List: John Liu and CCP

• John Liu met with Xu Yousheng, a top director of the United Front operation, officially called Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, during a sponsored trip to China in 2007.
• During the trip Liu was also given the highly publicized “The World is More Beautiful Because of You” award.

• With skyscrapers, iPods, and stock markets becoming as common a feature of daily life in Shanghai or Beijing as they are in New York or San Francisco, it can be easy to forget that China is still governed by a Leninist-style authoritarian regime intolerant of dissent and committed to exercising extensive control over the lives and especially, the political choices, of the Chinese people.
  
  It is still a country where a man was jailed last week for 13 years because he tried to start a political party, one of tens of thousands of political and religious prisoners of conscience languishing in prisons, labor camps, and mental institutions.
• But beyond the Communist Party’s repression in China, what is perhaps of equal importance in understanding the context surrounding John Liu is the CCP’s aggressiveness in seeking to subvert democratic values and processes abroad.
• The more common and widely known form this takes is a growing phenomenon of Party leaders using closer relations with foreign officials, particularly economic relations, to propel them to violate the rights to free expression and assembly of those perceived to somehow threaten the CCP’s grip on power at home.
• A less public and less widely known phenomenon is the extent to which the CCP, and especially via diplomatic representatives and overseas proxies, has taken steps to influence the outcome of democratic processes—including elections—beyond its borders.

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• A candidate for city comptroller in New York claims he fights for civil rights and grew up working in sweatshops. In fact, John Liu, who faces the voters next Tuesday in what is reported to be a tight race, has never worked in a sweatshop and has refused to speak out for civil or labor rights in prominent cases in New York.
• But the key to Liu’s political career is not his stand on rights. The key to his career is his close ties to the Chinese regime, whose media outlets have worked hard to promote him.
• Party Line on Falun Gong
• When needed, So’s and Liu’s decisions have followed the regime's line. This was especially true when each dealt with Falun Gong. John So followed the Party line on Falun Gong before the award, while John Liu did so after the award.
• Silent on Sweatshops
• Darling of China’s Official Press
• In mainland China, the state-level CCP mouthpieces, including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and China News Service (CNS), have reported Liu's activities in New York since he was first elected in 2001. (When former CCP head Jiang Zemin was interviewed by Mike Wallace for “60 Minutes,” on CBS, Jiang said, “The press should be the mouthpiece of the Party.”)
• Take CNS as an example. It has had 24 special reports on Liu's campaign for this city election, with 13 reports after Liu's decision to run for the city comptroller. It's very unusual for China’ state media to pay such attention to a local U.S. election.
• Will the voters of New York see the self-proclaimed veteran of the sweatshops as someone who will represent them or as someone who will represent bosses far away in Beijing?

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• The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is widely known to control domestic media and exert a strong influence on, if not directly control, most Chinese-language media outside the mainland.
• The China News Service (CNS), the Party’s mouthpiece for overseas propaganda, has run 24 special reports on Liu's campaign for the city election, 13 of them after Liu's decision to run for the city comptroller. It is highly unusual for Chinese state media to give so much attention to a candidate for local office in the United States.
• Liu may also be one thread in the complex web of relations between Chinese business and community associations, the Chinese Consulate in New York, and the United Front.

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• “His dubious character and disturbing behavior has raised serious concerns about whether his bid will ever bring justice. … If [his campaign were] ever successful, it will bring damage and disgrace to the local community and city at large,” said Chen Zhifei, a professor at the City University of New York at the protest.
• John Liu’s supposedly tormented childhood in a sweatshop was contradicted by his own 69-year-old mother, Jamy Liu, who told the Daily News in an interview arranged by her son that she never went to the factory.
• In addition to living in a two-garage Bayside house, John Liu’s family had a big house and two maids before immigrating from Taiwan, according to Chinese-language newspaper World Journal.
• The important attributes of city comptroller are honesty, his unwavering belief, fairness, and justice—which happen to be in short supply in Mr. Liu,
• Apparent Ties with the Chinese Regime
• Last year, Chinese Consul General Keyu Peng of New York encouraged mobs to verbally and physically attack local practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual practice. The encouragement was admitted to in recordings verified by the U.S. Department of State. Police arrested more than 22 individuals who were involved in verbal and physical abuse of the practitioners.
• Judy Chen, whose two sons have been serving for the U.S. army in Iraq. Chen, upon being attacked by pro-CCP individuals, appealed to John Liu’s office, but was refused. Nevertheless, John Liu invited those accused of the attacks to his office to be heard.
• “He also did not forget to bolster CCP’s military events. He went to the Chinese consulate himself over the years to send a certificate congratulating the launch of Chinese spacecrafts,”

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• After reviewing New York City Comptroller Candidate, John Liu’s campaign finances, discrepancies were found between contributions from donors as listed by the campaign, and information obtained directly from the donors.
• everal of Liu’s fundraising events were held by Chinese Associations in New York—most of which have strong connections with the Chinese Consulate and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
• several of the names listed on Liu’s financial disclosure never donated.
• One man (name withheld) is listed as having donated $1,000 to Liu’s campaign. When The Epoch Times phoned him, he said he donated only $50.
• Aside from holding fundraisers for Liu, the NYCBA’s chairman, Lü Chengrui, also arranged Liu’s trip to China in 2007. During his trip, Liu met with Xu Yousheng, the vice director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, one of the three offices of the United Front Work Department, and part of the CCP’s intelligence and foreign infiltration operations.

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• China experts and fellow politicians have questioned whether the Chinese regime's support for John Liu in the New York City Comptroller race is evidence for the regime's influence over the candidate. John Liu’s candidacy has been promoted by China’s state-run media, by organizations with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and on Chinese regime Web sites.
• The state-run China News Service (CNS) has run 32 reports on John Liu during this campaign, with 20 of them related to his campaign for city comptroller. This tally does not include 30 other reports during the past year that were not related to the election but also referred to him. All of the reports about John Liu, whether they discussed his campaign or not, painted him in a positive light.
• Li said the CCP often offers a lot of money and publicity to certain politicians and, at the same time, gets emotionally involved with them. The same is true by seeing who the CCP awards or honors, or campaigns for, he said. “This person is probably very close to the CCP.”
• John Liu visited China in 2007, as arranged by Lü Chengrui, the chairman of the Shandong Association of New York. Lü is also the chairman of the recently-formed United Federation of Chinese Associations. The highlight of the visit was John Liu receiving the “World Is Beautiful Because of You: Award for Chinese Influencing the World,” an award sponsored by media entities with close ties to the Chinese regime.

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• China Council, an organization controlled by the CCP Central Committee that has two purposes, according to its Web site. One is to “blend into local high-level politics,” while the other is to “influence mainstream society.”

• “Liu’s praise of Chinese communist military action is inappropriate. The CCP didn’t even bother to conceal its advocation to mobilize the Chinese army to launch terrorist attacks on the U.S,” states the letter.
• John Liu doesn't have any valid reason to go to present the congratulatory statement. John Liu is a councilman of New York City supervising transportation. He went to the Chinese Consulate in New York to present some congratulatory statement for a spaceship launched by Chinese armed forces. It doesn't make sense at all, the only explanation is that he gave himself away to the Chinese communist regime
• “John Liu’s conducts are not at all for the benefits of China or the Chinese people but to help the CCP to maintain its illegal dictatorial regime in China,” said Guohua.

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  U.S. Politicians Coerced to Follow Chinese Red Flag

    Sep 26, 2009, 4:00 pm 

  Red flag: influencing politicians in the West is an important part of the Chinese regime’s overseas activities.
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  John Liu Supports Pro-Communist Criminals in His District

    Sep 25, 2009, 10:00 am 

  Councilman Liu met in his office with people who attacked peaceful Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing.

• Editorial Note About John Liu: Questions of Character and Connections

    Sep 24, 2009, 11:00 am 

  As a newspaper, we have a responsibility to warn the public of hidden dangers.
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  Updated: Triad-Affiliated Organization Raised $70,000 for John Liu’s Comptroller Campaign

    Sep 23, 2009, 4:00 pm 

  The Fukien American Association, identified by experts as an organized crime group, gave $70,000 to Liu’s campaign.

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• Media That Support CCP Also Support John Liu

    Sep 9, 2009, 1:00 pm 

  City comptroller candidate John Liu is receiving strong support from the Chinese media, both domestic and foreign.
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  Who Does John Liu, Candidate for New York City Comptroller, Represent?

    Sep 8, 2009, 1:00 pm 

  A candidate for comptroller in New York City is receiving strong backing from the Chinese regime.

• Former Agent Exposes Communist Regime’s Methods of Infiltration in the West

• Chinese Communist Party Subverts Democracies and Rights Abroad

    Sep 10, 2009, 4:00 pm 

  The Epoch Times has revealed a close relationship between NYC comptroller candidate John Liu and Chinese officials.
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  China's United Front and John Liu's Connections

    Sep 9, 2009, 2:00 pm 

  As residents in New York gear up for the local elections, an unseen force may be hard at work.

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