https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dem-reps-defend-biden-appointee-who-belonged-to-alleged-chinese-intel-fronts-suggest-critics-are-racist/ar-AA17Jufs?ocid
ADemocratic congresswoman tied to alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence front groups, along with other members of her party, defended a Biden administration official on Friday after Republicans raised questions about his alleged Chinese government links.
After six Republican lawmakers led by Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden urged the FBI to investigate the alleged CCP intel front group ties of Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank and Biden’s appointee to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) led by California Democratic Rep. Judy Chu accused Gooden and his peers of singling out Ng due to his ethnicity, according to a joint press release on Chu’s website. Without providing evidence, CAPAC’s statement, which was also signed by Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu and Mark Takano of California as well as Grace Meng of New York, claimed the recent “suspicions” surrounding Ng’s alleged CCP ties were racially motivated and based on findings from “extreme-right” outlets, referring to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The DCNF recently revealed that Ng served as “executive director” at both the China Overseas Exchange Association (COEA) and the China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA). China experts, such as former CIA officer Nicholas Eftimiades, have identified both COEA and COFA as Chinese intelligence front groups.
“No Chinese Americans — indeed no Americans — should face suspicions of disloyalty or treason based on their ethnicity, nation of origin, or that of their family members,” CAPAC’s press release stated. “That kind of profiling is beneath us all, particularly those entrusted with public office.”
However, Chu’s comments follow a series of DNCF investigations that produced evidence of her own alleged CCP intel front group ties.
Chu served as the “honorary chairwoman” for an organization opposing Taiwan’s independence, which the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission identified as a front group of the United Front Work Department, one of the CCP’s overseas influence operations, according to a previous DCNF investigation. The DCNF also found that since 2012, Chu has served as the “honorary president” at the All-America Chinese Youth Federation, an organization whose leaders have included five individuals who’ve belonged to alleged UFWD front groups.
Most recently, the DCNF reported that Chu gave certificates of “Congressional Recognition” to at least 10 individuals who belonged to alleged CCP intel groups, many of whom also made political donations to Chu, campaign finance records reveal.
“Anyone who comes to Mr. Ng’s defense has questionable judgment, but calling members who are simply demanding an investigation ‘racist’ is just sad,” Gooden told the DCNF on Monday.
Prior to Ng’s appointment to APEC, CAPAC unsuccessfully lobbied President-elect Biden in December 2020 to appoint Ng to serve as secretary of the Commerce Department, according to Rep. Chu’s website.
In response to the Republicans’ demands, an East West Bank spokesman claimed that although Ng never belonged to COFA, Ng served at an “executive-director level” in an “honorary position” at COEA, but allegedly withdrew from the organization in 2014 due to “non-participation,” according to an American Banker report Friday. However, the DCNF’s investigation revealed that Ng was listed as COEA’s “executive director” throughout the entirety of COEA’s 5th Council between 2013 and 2017, citing multiple archived versions of COEA’s website.
Rep. Judy Chu has granted certificates of Congressional recognition to 10 individuals who have belonged to alleged front groups serving the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Image created by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Reps. Chu, Meng, Lieu and Takano were also among the Democratic votes opposing the formation of the House Select Committee charged with investigating the CCP’s malign influence efforts.
While defending their vote, CAPAC alleged that the new committee might lead to anti-Asian violence, according to its statement.
“Unquestionably anti-Asian violence is a real problem, but it’s a problem that the CCP wants,” Ina Mitchell, co-author of “The Mosaic Effect: How The Chinese Communist Party Started A War In America’s Backyard,” told the DCNF.
“The CCP deliberately amplifies social chaos and stirs up racism because it is an effective tool against questions of loyalty, which in the end really does hurt hard working Asian-Americans who have nothing to do with the CCP,” Mitchell said.