Eric Adams Accepts Award from Pro–Chinese Communist Party Activist

New York City mayor Eric Adams, New York GOP officials, and other politicians rubbed elbows with a pro–Chinese Communist Party activist during a rally in Brooklyn for the Lunar New Year holiday last weekend. This was the latest of many frequent interactions between top political figures in the state and pro-Beijing figures.

The pro-Beijing activist is John Chan, the chairman of BRACE, a community group that positions itself as an organization for Asian-American empowerment in New York City. Adams appeared onstage with Chan and accepted an award from him, though City Hall asserts that the two men are not friends.

Chan’s activism is dotted with red flags, in more ways than one. He has played a leading role in pro-Beijing demonstrations on U.S. soil, at least one of which was linked directly to Chinese-government efforts, and Chinese flag-raising ceremonies.

Another group led by Chan, the American Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong), funded a “friendship delegation” junket to China, with GOP members of the New York State assembly, last December.

Two of the CCP-linked junket’s participants, Assemblymen Lester Chang and William Barclay, attended the BRACE event last week.

Chang, from Brooklyn, co-sponsored last weekend’s event, according to a banner at the rally, and appeared onstage.

New York City Council member Susan Zhuang, a Democrat, also played a prominent role in the rally. Elected last year for the first time, she received an endorsement from BRACE during the campaign.

In addition to Zhuang and Chang, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was also listed on the banner. Jeffries did not appear in person, only sending a representative from his district office.

“Both Republicans and Democrats in New York appear to agree on at least one thing: sharing the stage with CCP officials and boosting Beijing’s propaganda,” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow in Indo-Pacific studies, told National Review.

None of the co-organizers’ offices responded to requests for comment.

But in a statement to National Review, City Hall distanced itself from Chan. “Mayor Adams was proud to march in two Lunar New Year parades this weekend to honor the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who celebrate the holiday,” a spokeswoman said. Adams attended another Lunar New Year parade the next day.

The spokeswoman added that Zhuang, not Chan, invited Adams to the event, and that the mayor “is not friends with John Chan and in no way endorses BRACE or any other organization he’s associated with.” His participation in the events was intended to show support for the city’s Chinese community and Zhuang, she added.

At the celebration last Saturday, Chan gave opening remarks in Chinese before welcoming Adams to the stage, according to footage of the event posted to YouTube and reviewed by NR.

The mayor briefly congratulated Zhuang on organizing the parade and praised Brooklyn’s Chinese community. Then, Zhuang and Chan presented Adams with an award.

Chinese consul-general Huang Ping gave a speech at the event commemorating the 45th anniversary of normalized relations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China.

Huang is a CCP hardliner who regularly peddles Beijing’s propaganda narratives and appears in public with Adams and other New York political players, including Governor Kathy Hochul.

Last March, Taiwanese media reported that Huang’s consulate paid members of pro–Chinese communist groups to protest Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen during her stopover in New York City.

Chan was present at the demonstrations, which were also linked to another CCP front group, and was holding a microphone, per video published by Chinese-state-media network CGTN.

In November, Chan traveled to San Francisco, where he held a bullhorn during demonstrations to welcome Xi Jinping on his visit for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that month, as seen in footage from a state-media outlet focused on overseas Chinese communities.

Crowds of pro-Beijing demonstrators attacked anti-CCP protesters during Xi’s visit. There is no indication that Chan played a role in the violence.

Chan’s biography on the website of the American Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong), says that he immigrated from China’s Fujian province in the 1990s and has organized at least three Chinese government flag-raising events. He did not return a call from National Review yesterday.