Rep. Grace Meng (D., N.Y.) attended several events with alleged operatives for the Chinese communist government, at least one of which took place at a New York City nonprofit's headquarters that U.S. officials say was a front for a secret Chinese police station.
The alleged spies, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, were charged for running a "secret police station" in the Manhattan office of the America Changle Association, a nonprofit where the two men have served as chairman and commander-in-chief, respectively. Meng attended several events hosted by the organization with the alleged operatives, including the ribbon-cutting for the office in question, according to the Daily Caller.
Prosecutors said the men admitted to deleting digital correspondence with Chinese officials after learning of the federal investigation.
"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 Daily Caller.
Meng attended several events with the arrested men, according to the Daily Caller:
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.
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.
Previously unearthed photos show Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) also rubbing shoulders with Lu.
The report comes after a federal watchdog found U.S. officials don’t know how much taxpayer money is going toward the CCP. The U.S. Government Accountability Office said data on money to China are "incomplete and sometimes inaccurate."