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Dem Rep denies membership in orgs with alleged Chinese intel ties, but photos and docs suggest otherwise

February 27, 2023 | | Print Article

Daily Caller News Foundation

California Democratic Rep. Judy Chu recently denied she had been a member in several organizations with alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence ties, following a series of reports from the Daily Caller News Foundation that showed her involvement with the groups. However, photographs and documents appear to contradict her claims.

Chu accepted honorary positions at two California-based organizations with ties to a CCP agency the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) identified as an “intelligence service” in 2018, the DCNF recently reported. The congresswoman subsequently denied membership in both organizations, stating that she is “legally required to disclose participation on advisory boards or leadership in organizations,” according to Feb. 14 statements released by her press office and in comments to The Washington Post.

Despite Rep. Chu’s defense, multiple photographs and reports show the congresswoman accepting appointments from leaders from both the All America Chinese Youth Federation (AACYF) as well as the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China, groups with whom Chu denied affiliation.

“I have been accused of serving as the honorary president of an organization, the All America Chinese Youth Federation, with ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chu’s Feb. 14 press release states. “I am not and have never been a member of this group, and I never gave my permission to be listed as the ‘honorary president’ for it or any other organization like it.”

However, multiple Chinese-language articles appearing in news outlets such as ChinaNews.com and Sina.com report that Chu accepted a position as AACYF’s “honorary president” during a meeting with the organization’s leaders in Chu’s Los Angeles office on October 9, 2012, according to DCNF translations. These articles appear to be sourced from announcements originating from AACYF.

Furthermore, one such announcement concerning Chu’s October 2012 appointment, published by a group which identifies itself as a Chinese government “people’s organization,” also includes a photo which shows the congresswoman holding a certificate bearing AACYF’s logo, flanked by four individuals in an office decorated with a Congressional seal and the flags of the U.S. and California.

In addition to Chu, the individuals in the photo appear to include several AACYF members, such as the organization’s “director general,” Zhu Bingfeng. The DCNF matched Zhu with photos found on AACYF’s website.

The DCNF recently identified Zhu as a leader of the American Chinese Youth Federation for the Peaceful Reunification of China, which is a subchapter of an organization “directly subordinate” to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), according to the USCC.

The UFWD is responsible for both influence and intelligence operations and employs “dual hatted officials working in more than one role” in order to advance the CCP’s political agenda globally, according to USCC.

Counting Zhu, AACYF’s leadership has apparently included at least five individuals who belong to alleged front groups serving the UFWD, the DCNF previously reported.

AACYF’s website listed Rep. Chu as the organization’s “honorary president” in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, archived records reveal. However, at some point after the DCNF reported on Chu’s membership, the webpage for AACYF’s roster was quietly deleted, the DCNF found, and now only displays an “ERROR 404. PAGE NOT FOUND!” notification.

On Friday, Chu also doubled-down in denying her connection with the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China, telling The Washington Post: “I have had no contact with this group ever since demanding the retraction, and have never attended an organizational meeting of this group.”

But, again, reports as well as photos appear to contradict the congresswoman’s denial.

On August 23, 2019, Chu reportedly attended an event at the Capital Seafood restaurant in Monterey Park where she was named “honorary chairwoman” of the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China, an organization that opposes Taiwan’s independence, according to DCNF translations of articles from multiple Chinese-language news outlets. Although not identical, the articles contain similar wording and appear to have originated from the same source, the DCNF found.

In 2018, USCC identified the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China as one of 33 U.S. anti-Taiwan independence front groups serving the UFWD. After viewing the picture of Chu’s appointment to the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China, along with other evidence, multiple intelligence experts previously told the DCNF that the organization was a front group for Chinese intelligence.

Moreover, one report covering Chu’s appointment as “honorary chairwoman” to the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China published by the Las Vegas Chinese News Network includes photos that appear to show the congresswoman accepting a gold-framed certificate from the organization’s incoming “chairman,” Guo Zhiming.

Another photo of the certificate, which contains multiple typos, is dated “Aug. 23th, 2019” and presented by “Zhi Ming Guo,” clearly shows the alleged UFWD front group’s name “Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China” and states: “Presented to Judy Chu be our Honor President In Recognition of your Outstanding Friendship and Support!”

During the August 2019 event, Chu also reportedly awarded the incoming “chairman” of the alleged UFWD front group, Guo, a “Certificate of Congressional Recognition,” according to a DCNF translation.

Since 2009, Guo has made over a dozen donations to Chu totaling $14,850, campaign finance records reveal.

Yet, it remains unclear how long Chu held the position of “honorary chairwoman” at the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China.

Chu has come under increased scrutiny since she voted against the formation of the House Select Committee on China on Jan. 10, which is charged with investigating the CCP’s malign influence efforts. While defending her vote, Chu alleged that the new committee might prompt anti-Asian violence, according to a statement released by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), which Chu chairs.

More recently, Chu came to the defense of Dominic Ng, President Joe Biden’s appointee to the business advisory council for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), after six Republican members of Congress led by Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray urging the bureau to investigate Ng. The Republican push to investigate Ng also followed a series of DCNF reports which revealed that Ng has ties to alleged CCP intelligence front groups.

Chu did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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