{"id":2233,"date":"2025-08-27T01:04:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2233"},"modified":"2025-08-27T01:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:04:05","slug":"what-a-new-york-bribery-scandal-reveals-about-chinas-approach-to-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2233","title":{"rendered":"What a New York Bribery Scandal Reveals About China\u2019s Approach to Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome to\u00a0<em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s China Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this week: A <strong>bribery scandal<\/strong> <strong>in New York<\/strong> prompts scrutiny of Chinese influence operations, Beijing prepares for a <strong>military parade<\/strong>, and Nvidia pauses production of the <strong>H20 chip<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/china-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"china_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-china_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-china_brief newsletter-shortcode-china_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-china_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-china_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"China Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-china_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-china_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"china_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Bribery Scandal Highlights Chinese Influence<\/h3>\n<p>Last week, Winnie Greco\u2014then a Chinese American advisor to New York Mayor Eric Adams and the city\u2019s former director of Asian affairs\u2014made headlines for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecity.nyc\/2025\/08\/20\/winnie-greco-eric-adams-aide-attempted-cash-katie-honan-reporter\/\">handing<\/a> a reporter an envelope of cash in a bag of potato chips in a seeming bribery attempt.<\/p>\n<p>There has since been intense scrutiny on Chinese influence efforts in New York, home to the highest number of ethnic Chinese outside of Asia. On Monday, the <em>New York Times <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/25\/nyregion\/china-consulate-new-york-elections.html\">published<\/a> an extensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/25\/insider\/investigating-china.html\">investigation<\/a> into how Beijing seeks to shape politics in the city, ranging from control of decades-old \u201chometown associations\u201d to sabotaging the careers of pro-Taiwanese politicians.<\/p>\n<p>The recent incidents recounted in that investigation are hardly the first time that Chinese influence has shown up in <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/06\/china-united-front-asian-americans-new-york\/\">New York local politics<\/a>. But why does Beijing put so much effort into winning municipal elections with ultimately little role in setting foreign or trade policy?<\/p>\n<p>Some of it is habit. Chinese official life involves interference, monitoring, and control of civil society\u2014including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/article\/1296244\/censors-join-crowd-beijings-small-theatres\">live theater<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.palladiummag.com\/2019\/08\/19\/inside-the-house-church-movement-in-china\/\">house churches<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sccei.fsi.stanford.edu\/china-briefs\/why-did-china-experiment-and-then-abandon-village-elections\">village elections<\/a> (now abandoned), and everything in between.<\/p>\n<p>China sees its diaspora, especially those born in the mainland, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swp-berlin.org\/10.18449\/2022RP10\/\">falling under its authority<\/a>, which stems in part from ethnonationalism, but also a long-standing fear that <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2019\/03\/08\/the-chinese-communist-party-is-still-afraid-of-sun-yat-sens-shadow\/\">dissidents abroad<\/a> could spur rebellion at home. Controlling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoover.org\/sites\/default\/files\/research\/docs\/13_diamond-schell-chinas-influence-and-american-interests_chapter-six-_media.pdf\">Chinese-language media<\/a> overseas is a particular priority; the esoteric religious movement Falun Gong, one of Beijing\u2019s main bugbears, has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/apr\/30\/falun-gong-media-epoch-times-democrats-chinese-communists\">strong presence<\/a> in U.S. media.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is an element of the tail wagging the dog. Ambitious people in overseas Chinese associations want to curry favor with the Chinese Communist Party. As China has grown more ideologically rigid under President Xi Jinping, more members of the diaspora have <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2022\/04\/14\/china-youth-generation-snitch\/\">snitched<\/a> on their local rivals to cause trouble for them back in the mainland.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is the long struggle with Taiwan over recognition\u2014one that China largely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/IF12503\">won long ago<\/a> but which remains an obsession. Even though only a handful of countries formally recognize Taiwan, any hint of informal recognition spurs <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2016\/12\/05\/china-really-isnt-joking-about-taiwan\/\">panicked and furious reactions<\/a> from the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomatic staff who fail to act on a perceived slight may find themselves stabbed in the back by rivals or deputies alike. Thus they end up taking action: whether that means <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-54605976\">fighting over a cake<\/a> at a party in Fiji, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/beijings-propaganda-lessons-1407430440\">ripping pages<\/a> out of a conference booklet in Portugal, or working to defeat a pro-Taiwan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taiwannews.com.tw\/news\/6186853\">state senator<\/a> in New York.<\/p>\n<p>There are more conventional political goals at play, too. Ethnic Chinese groups might not have much weight on the U.S. national stage, but they can seek to represent the Chinese community to local politicians. Greco, for instance, previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecity.nyc\/2024\/10\/03\/winnie-greco-steered-adams-china-relations-for-decade\/\">steered<\/a> Adams away from attending events specifically for the Taiwanese community.<\/p>\n<p>And whether for political influence or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/04\/world\/asia\/new-zealand-china-spy.html\">espionage<\/a>, people recruited at a lower level can rise to higher office. When a Chinese agent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/05\/24\/house-ethics-eric-swalwell-chinese-spy\">targeted U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell<\/a>, for example, he was a rising but still local politician in California. Swalwell broke off all ties with the agent after the FBI alerted him, and he was cleared of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>There is always a danger of legitimate concerns about Chinese influence operations blurring over into racism. But Chinese Americans deserve to decide their own politics, without Beijing\u2019s interference.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Red envelopes.<\/strong> The Greco affair and subsequent reporting on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/21\/nyregion\/eric-adams-chinese-cash-envelopes.html\">distribution of cash<\/a> to reporters from Chinese-language news organizations during Adams rallies highlighted a common phenomenon in China: the bribing of reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Greco\u2019s lawyer told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecity.nyc\/2025\/08\/20\/winnie-greco-eric-adams-aide-attempted-cash-katie-honan-reporter\/\">the <em>City<\/em><\/a>, \u201cIn the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude.\u201d This is a misrepresentation. People give money to children at Spring Festival or to couples at weddings, but when they give it to people they barely know\u2014often in the same red envelopes\u2014it\u2019s a bribe.<\/p>\n<p>In China, such bribes are a routine part of how organizations deal with reporters, where it functions as institutionalized pay-for-play. It\u2019s both a reward for covering an event and sets the expectation that the coverage will be positive.<\/p>\n<p>If you attend a press event in China, red envelopes with cash\u2014typically several hundred yuan, or anything from $50 to $100\u2014will be placed on or under your seat. Chinese reporters know this is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/content\/496402.shtml#:~:text=Government%20departments%2C%20public%20relations%20companies,for%20a%20top%20TV%20reporter.\">form of bribery<\/a>, but it\u2019s approved by superiors. That creates a dilemma for Chinese-language reporters in the United States, where the practice still happens but formal policy is to avoid taking the <a href=\"https:\/\/kcinbk.substack.com\/p\/a-former-insider-on-the-red-envelope\">red envelopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, though, one would never usually receive a red envelope in a bag of <a href=\"https:\/\/kcinbk.substack.com\/p\/a-former-insider-on-the-red-envelope\">potato chips<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Military parade.<\/strong> Beijing is preparing to host a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/08\/20\/china\/china-military-parade-new-weapons-intl-hnk-ml\">military parade<\/a> next week, in celebration of the 80th anniversary of China\u2019s victory over Japan in World War II. It will be the biggest such event since 2019. The parade offers a chance to show off China\u2019s ever-expanding military arsenal, this time including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-08-26\/satellite-images-show-latest-chinese-weapons-ahead-of-military-parade?embedded-checkout=true\">several<\/a> weapons capable of striking the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Next week\u2019s event is also important because it comes after months of <a href=\"https:\/\/asiasociety.org\/policy-institute\/xi-jinpings-purges-have-escalated-heres-why-they-are-unlikely-stop\">military purges<\/a>, which have stirred up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lowyinstitute.org\/the-interpreter\/china-coup-rumours-xi-jinping-s-decline-are-premature\">rumors<\/a> in diaspora circles about the Chinese military\u2019s supposed unhappiness with Xi. As usual, these strike me as unsourced wish-casting, though it\u2019s noticeable that some of the rumors have made it back to the mainland.<\/p>\n<p>For Xi, being saluted by ranks of soldiers thus sends an important message of control.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>FP\u2019s Most Read This Week<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Tech and Business<\/h3>\n<p><strong>H20 suspicions.<\/strong> Earlier this month, Nvidia agreed to give the U.S. government an unprecedented 15 percent of its artificial intelligence chip sales to China in exchange for export licenses. This prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to promise to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/25\/us\/politics\/trump-intel-economy-strategy.html\">seek similar arrangements<\/a> from other firms, including Intel, which agreed to a deal last week.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned in previous China Briefs, there is a long-running debate over Nvidia\u2019s H20 chip, which was being used to get around U.S. export restrictions. Now, the Chinese government has become even more suspicious of the H20, prompting harsher <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/china-warns-against-nvidia-h20-164154990.html\">warnings for Chinese firms<\/a> not to use the chips, even though they want them.<\/p>\n<p>Nvidia has since <a href=\"https:\/\/theaiinsider.tech\/2025\/08\/25\/h20-ai-chip-production-stopped-by-nvidia-after-beijing-issues-warning\/\">paused production<\/a> of the H20 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomshardware.com\/pc-components\/gpus\/nvidia-reportedly-shows-china-specific-b30-chips-with-80-percent-of-the-performance-of-the-standard-blackwell-gpu-to-the-u-s-government-nvidia-ceo-says-approval-is-still-up-in-the-air\">may be working<\/a> on another chip for the Chinese market, but that is unlikely to win approval from Beijing if the chip is seen as an arm of U.S. government ambitions. The end result may be what many experts <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/04\/china-chips-controls-nvidia-ai-huawei\/\">warned<\/a>: China\u2019s attempts to build advanced domestic chip infrastructure getting a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silicon.co.uk\/cloud\/ai\/china-ai-stocks-626437\">huge boost<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Evergrande delisted.<\/strong> The once-colossal Chinese real estate firm Evergrande has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/25\/business\/china-property-downturn.html\">delisted<\/a> from the Hong Kong stock market, a reminder of the slow-rumbling property crisis that continues to undermine the Chinese economy.<\/p>\n<p>Evergrande was once anticipated to catalyze China\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/sep\/17\/chinas-lehman-brothers-moment-evergrande-crisis-rattles-economy\">Lehman Brothers moment<\/a>,\u201d where the collapse of a key institution causes a widespread and immediate disaster, but one of the advantages of Beijing\u2019s level of market and media control is that potential panics can be defused.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that without decisive moments of failure, simmering crises can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3277769\/scared-chinas-p2p-scandal-new-wave-young-investors-are-less-willing-risk-it-all\">poison<\/a> the investment atmosphere for years to come. Most Chinese families\u2019 financial security is built around their real estate holdings; with those stagnating, there is little appetite for any other risk.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/26\/china-new-york-bribe-eric-adams-politics-diaspora-influence\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to\u00a0Foreign Policy\u2019s China Brief. The highlights this week: A bribery scandal in New York prompts scrutiny of Chinese influence operations, Beijing prepares for a military parade, and Nvidia pauses production of the H20 chip. Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday. Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}