NEW YORK—An influential Chinese-language newspaper that covers news in the eastern United States, World Journal, printed a political analysis article on Nov. 17 claiming racial discrimination is at the heart of the fraud case involving a fundraiser for Comptroller John Liu’s election campaign.
Liu receives much support from state-run Chinese regime media, inside and outside of China, which portray him as a celebrity figure, warmly received by the public.
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 headline in the World Journal translates as “FBI Trapping Pan Xinwu to Get at John Liu? Laying a trap for Pan Xinwu, political analysis: fear of Asian becoming mayor, coercing Pan to testify against Liu.”
China News Service (CNS), the second-largest state-run media behind Xinhua, expressed the same sentiment on its Chinese website. An article by CNS titled “Fear of the Chinese Political Star Sets Trap by the U.S. FBI,” dated Nov. 18 appeared on Yahoo Overseas. The words “discrimination against Asians,” appear in the article, according to a translation.
The CNS article quotes the head of the Fukien American Association, an organization that has a strong influence on the Chinese community in New York and that supports both John Liu and the Chinese regime.
Chairman Zheng Qi, who has worked as a community liaison for Warren City mayor’s office in New York State for more than four years, said that based on his work experience, Chinese-Americans who participate in politics have always been discriminated against.
Experts recognize that propaganda through Chinese media organs outside China plays a central role in influencing overseas Chinese, and a key task in foreign propaganda work is to “turn them [overseas Chinese associations] into propaganda bases for China,” according to Anne-Marie Brady, speaking at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in April 2009. Brady is a New Zealand academic whose research focuses on China’s propaganda system.
With additional reporting by Hannah Cai
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