NY rep says Chinese Communist Party tried to steal his assembly seat

Queens state Assemblyman Ron Kim says the Chinese Communist Party tried to steal his seat in last June’s Democratic primary. This comes as an aide for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has gotten charged for working as an agent for the CCP. 

“There were clear patterns of foreign influence trying to dictate the outcome of the election — groups with ties to mainland China and the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]. They were trying to steal the Flushing seat,” Kim told The New York Post in an exclusive interview. “It’s a very layered operation. We’re entering dangerous territory. I don’t know how we can stop it,” he said.

Kim, a Korean-American, decided to tell his story following the shock arrest of Linda Sun, a former top aide to Govs. Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, who has been linked to the CCP.

Sun and husband Christopher Hu are charged with being unregistered agents for the CCP who reaped millions of dollars in kickbacks and then laundered the illegal cash to buy a $4.1 million mansion in Manhasset, LI, a $2 million Honolulu luxury condo and an ensemble of high-priced cars, including a 2024 Ferrari Roma.

In the 40th District primary, Kim faced-off against a virtual political unknown named Yi Andy Chen, who had the endorsement of the American Chinese Commerce Association. The association reportedly has close ties to the CCP and the group’s chairman, John Chan, a Chinese-American activist, is a friend of the People’s Republic of China and its Consulate General office in New York.

Kim barely won his first nomination battle in 2012 by 443 votes. Sources who spoke to the Post said that the influence of the CCP in New York has been growing, but critics are afraid to speak out of fear of being targeted. “It’s a scary thing,” Kim said of opposing CCP activity.

The assemblyman said most of the Chinese community is anti-communist and fled their native land to get away from authoritarian control. “The majority of Asia groups are loyal to American business and American capital,” Kim said. But “there is a new wave of organizations tied to the CCP that are not loyal to our way of life,” he told the Post.

Kim recalled to the Post how he had repeatedly introduced a resolution to honor the relationship between the US and Taiwan, a sovereign country that China considers a renegade “province” of the mainland. But Kim said during the years of Cuomo, he received word from someone in the governor’s office that the “Chinese consul general was upset” with his resolution.

In November, John Chan — chairman of the American Chinese Commerce Association — was on hand to greet the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping to San Francisco and oppose a crowd that was there to protest Chinese policy.