By Philip Lenczycki
New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng frequently met and attended events with an alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operative who was recently arrested by the FBI, according to photos and news reports reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Since 2016, Meng has attended multiple New York City events held by Chinese-American organizations to which Lu Jianwang, the suspected CCP operative, has belonged, according to photos and reports from multiple Chinese-language news sites. On April 17, the FBI arrested Lu Jianwang, the former “chairman” of the nonprofit America Changle Association, for allegedly “opening and operating an illegal overseas police station” within the nonprofit’s Manhattan headquarters.
Not only has Meng attended multiple events alongside Lu Jianwang, who also goes by Harry Lu, but the six-term congresswoman was also present at several key moments in America Changle’s history, photos and reports from multiple Chinese-language news sources reveal.
“While Congresswoman Meng has likely encountered him at local community events, she has no personal relationship with [Lu Jianwang], and was unaware of any allegations against him until last Monday’s news,” Meng’s press secretary told the DCNF.
‘Sound The Alarm’
On September 26, 2016, Meng apparently participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the launch of America Changle’s Manhattan headquarters — the same office where Lu Jianwang allegedly operated a CCP police station — according to a report from Chinese state-run news outlet FJsen.com’s social media account.
Photos included in the news report show Meng standing right beside Lu Jianwang during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. At that time, Lu Jianwang was America Changle’s “chairman,” having served in that position between 2012 and 2018, according to an archived version of the organization’s website.
In addition to allegedly running the purported Chinese government police station, the FBI claims Lu Jianwang has conducted several “repressive activities” within the U.S.
Among other allegations, the Department of Justice (DOJ) claims that in 2015 Lu Jianwang protested in Washington, D.C., against “members of a religion” forbidden under Chinese law. The FBI also claims that Lu Jianwang enlisted a “coconspirator” in 2022 to help a Chinese security official track down a “pro-democracy activist” living in California.
Salih Hudayar, the prime minister of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE), which lays claim to the Uyghur home province of Xinjiang, told the DCNF that New York politicians such as Meng owe the American public an explanation given that her congressional district is home to a “sizable Chinese” community. The CCP is known to target Chinese-Americans by threatening family members still living in China, according to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
“Rep. Meng should have been the first to sound the alarm about her constituents facing this threat,” Hudayar told the DCNF.
Lu Jianwang’s successor, Zhang Zikuo, who served as chairman between 2018 and 2021, according to membership records, as well as his brother, Lu Jianshun, also took part in the 2016 ribbon-cutting ceremony with Meng, photos from the event show.
More recently, Meng presided over the ceremonial transfer of power between then-outgoing America Changle chairman Zhang Zikuo and Lu Jianshun during a June 2021 event held at the Royal Queen Restaurant located in Flushing, New York, Chinese-language photos, video and reports show. The restaurant is located within Meng’s congressional district.
Following Lu Jianshun’s inauguration, Meng delivered a speech in Mandarin Chinese during which she praised America Changle for their “contribution” to Chinese people in New York, according to a DCNF translation of video from the event. The footage shows that Meng’s speech was then followed by an address given by Chen Jinping, America Changle’s “commander-in-chief,” whom the FBI also arrested on April 17.
Following their April 17 arrests, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping allegedly “admitted to the FBI” that they’d deleted “communications” with an official from China’s Ministry of Public Security off their phones, according to a DOJ press release.
Transnational Repression
In October 2022, a report from the European-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders led the New York Post to identify America Changle’s Manhattan office as the location of just one of many police stations established overseas by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“More than anyone else, Meng should know how the Chinese government operates, how they’re infiltrating Chinese diaspora communities and dissident groups in New York and across the United States,” Hudayar said.
Hudayar was one of the first to publicly recognize the CCP’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in China and, consequently, claims he’s personally suffered at the hands of the CCP’s tactic of “transnational repression,” which the FBI defines as “when foreign governments stalk, intimidate or assault people” in the United States. Hudayar told the DCNF that CCP agents have threatened, stalked and even shot out the window in his home in an attempt to “intimidate” him.
Similarly, the FBI alleges that Lu Jianwang was “enlisted” to harass a “purported PRC fugitive” to return to China in 2018 by using “threats of violence made to the victim and the victim’s family” in the U.S. and China.
In October 2022, after America Changle was identified as being the location of the alleged Chinese government police station in New York, the DCNF contacted two of Meng’s press secretaries requesting comment about her potential efforts to protect constituents from CCP influence operations, yet received no reply.
‘Ode To The Motherland’
Two months before the launch of America Changle’s Manhattan headquarters, Meng awarded a framed “proclamation” to Lu Jianshun, during the 25th anniversary of the American Fujian Association of Commerce and Industry in July 2016, according to Chinese-language news ICN TV.
Meng, both Lu brothers and the deputy consul general of the New York Chinese Consulate all delivered speeches during the banquet, which was held at the Royal Queen Restaurant in Flushing, New York, according to FJsen.com.
Over the years, Meng has also attended several other events with the Lu brothers at the Royal Queen Restaurant, including taking part in America Fujian Association’s 77th anniversary celebration on March 18, 2019, according to footage from the event.
During event, Meng and Lu Jianwang participated in a portion of the traditional Chinese lion dance performance on stage, footage shows.
In addition to Meng, footage also reveals that then-Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams was in attendance.
Adams’ “special assistant,” Winnie Greco, was also present and sang “Ode To The Motherland” on stage alongside the Lu brothers, footage from the event shows.
“Ode To The Motherland” has been called communist China’s “second national anthem,” according to Chinese state-run media outlet Chinanews.com.
Neither Adams’ office nor Lu Jianwang’s attorney, Deidre von Dornum, responded to multiple requests for comment.
‘We’re Becoming More Like China’
Meng’s ties to Lu Jianwang and America Changle recently came under scrutiny after the New York Daily News revealed that Lu Jianwang donated $600 to Meng’s congressional campaign. Likewise, the DCNF reported that Lu Jianwang had participated in a fundraiser for Meng’s congressional campaign in 2022.
At the same time, Lu Jianshun personally donated $4,000 to Adams’ campaign, the DCNF previously reported.
In total, the Lu brothers have donated more than $30,000 to New York Democratic politicians, the New York Daily News reported.
Meng’s press secretary told the DCNF that the congresswoman’s campaign “prides itself on following FEC guidance and immediately donated funds in an equal amount” to Lu Jianwang’s contribution to an unnamed nonprofit.
“China is encroaching on all levels of American society to weaken it from within. Instead of China becoming more democratic, we’re becoming more like China,” Hudayar told the DCNF. “This needs to be addressed because the clock is ticking.”
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