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EXCLUSIVE: Alleged Chinese Spy Spent Years Rubbing Elbows With Dem Congresswoman

EXCLUSIVE: Alleged Chinese Spy Spent Years Rubbing Elbows With Dem Congresswoman

In 2014, Rep. Grace Meng invited Lu Jianwang to Washington D.C. for a small business hearing. [Image created by the DCNF with pictures from the website of Henan Chinese Associates USA and the Chinese government.]

Philip Lenczycki
September 10, 2024 10:23 AM ET

A man arrested for obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent in New York City has been photographed attending events with a Democratic congresswoman as far back as 2014, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

Lu Jianwang was charged in April 2023 with conspiring to act as an agent of China and other crimes related to operating an illegal police station out of a New York City-based nonprofit called the America Changle Association. Yet, before he was charged, Lu Jianwang had a long history of rubbing elbows with New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng at events in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

The DCNF reviewed dozens of reports and photos from Chinese-language news outlets and community organizations to uncover Lu Jianwang’s interactions with Democrat lawmakers, including Meng. These interactions range from attending Meng’s fundraisers and rallies to cutting checks to the congresswoman’s campaign committee.

Meng’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

The DCNF previously reported that Lu Jianwang socialized with New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor Eric Adams at anniversary celebrations for America Changle and related Chinese nonprofits. The meetings show how frequently Lu Jianwang was able to gain access to elected Democrats and the great lengths he went to associate with American politicians.

“The extent of infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party into New York’s Chinese community and, by extension, to its governmental representatives is both alarming and largely unaddressed by U.S. national security agencies,” Dr. Lawrence Sellin, a national security and Chinese influence operation expert, told the DCNF.

Lu Jianwang is not the only alleged Chinese agent with ties to Meng. Linda Sun was arrested Tuesday for allegedly “acting as an undisclosed agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Sun served as Meng’s chief of staff while she was in the New York state assembly and served on Meng’s 2012 congressional campaign. Sun went on to work on the staff of both former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and current Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Photos found on the website of Henan Association Of Eastern America (HAEA) — an organization where Meng previously served as “deputy chairwoman” and is now listed as “honorary chairwoman” — picture Meng and Sun together as far back as 2009.

Lu Jianwang’s attorney told the DCNF his client declined to comment.

Schumer and Adams’ offices did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

‘No Personal Relationship’

In April 2023, the FBI announced the arrest of Lu Jianwang and another defendant for deleting evidence regarding an investigation of “an undeclared police station in downtown New York City” out of America Changle’s Manhattan office. The secret police station was an outpost of the Fuzhou municipal police force from China’s Fujian province, according to the Department of Justice’s complaint.

Among other things, the DOJ alleges that Lu Jianwang helped “locate persons of interest” for Chinese state security officials and participated in “counterprotests in Washington, D.C. against members of a religion” banned under Chinese law.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement “the defendants were directed to do [China’s] bidding, including helping locate a Chinese dissident living in the United States, and obstructed our investigation by deleting their communications with a Chinese Ministry of Public Security official.”

Shortly after Lu Jianwang’s arrest, the DCNF reported that Meng had participated in the 2016 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the nonprofit’s Manhattan office. At the time, Meng’s spokesperson told the DCNF that the congresswoman had “no personal relationship” with Lu Jianwang.

However, Lu Jianwang regularly attended political functions with Meng going back to 2014, according to photos on HAEA’s website.

Lu Jianwang was first photographed with Meng during a January 14, 2014 junket to the nation’s capital. Back then, Meng led a group of Chinese businessmen from New York to Washington, D.C. to attend a hearing at the U.S. Capitol held by the Small Business Administration and Export-Import Bank of the United States, according to an announcement and photos on HAEA’s website.

The purpose of the visit was to “promote the economic development of the U.S. and New York,” according to HAEA.

Lu Jianwang shows up in many photos from the trip featured on HAEA’s website.

One photo, for instance, shows Lu Jianwang shaking Meng’s hand outside her congressional office.

In 2014, Meng invited a group of Chinese businessmen from New York, including Lu Jianwang, to Washington, D.C. to attend a hearing. [Image created by the DCNF with pictures from HAEA.]

In 2014, Meng invited a group of Chinese businessmen from New York, including Lu Jianwang, to Washington, D.C. to attend a hearing. [Image created by the DCNF with pictures from HAEA.]

Lu Jianwang was also pictured walking through the U.S. Capitol with other trip participants, and in another photograph he can be seen seated in the audience listening to speeches from Meng and Schumer.

In January 2014, Meng invited Lu Jianwang to Washington DC to attend a small business meeting. Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke at the event. [Image created by the DCNF with pictures from HAEA.]

In January 2014, Meng invited Lu Jianwang to Washington DC to attend a small business meeting. Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke at the event. [Image created by the DCNF with pictures from HAEA.]

Schumer has since attended at least one event where Lu Jianwang was also present. In March 2023, Schumer was photographed standing beside New York Mayor Eric Adams and Lu Jianwang at a banquet for the Fujian Hometown Association, the DCNF previously reported.

In February 2014, Lu Jianwang and Lu Jianshun attended a fundraiser for Meng in New York City. [Image created by the DCNF with picture from HAEA.]

In February 2014, Lu Jianwang and Lu Jianshun attended a fundraiser for Meng in New York City. [Image created by the DCNF with picture from HAEA.]

‘Grace Meng For Congress’

One month after Meng took Chinese businessmen to D.C., Lu Jianwang and his younger brother, Lu Jianshun, attended a fundraiser in New York City to support the congresswoman’s re-election, an announcement and photos on HAEA’s website show.

A group photo taken during the fundraiser shows the Lu brothers, Meng and her other supporters standing in front of blue “Grace” campaign signs.

The DCNF previously revealed that the Lu brothers attended an April 2022 fundraiser for Meng at a restaurant in Flushing, Queens, during which Lu Jianwang was photographed standing beside the congresswoman.

Federal Election Commission filings show that Lu Jianwang — who also goes by the name “Harry Lu” — donated $2,100 to Meng between 2014 and 2022. FEC filings also show that between 2012 and 2020, Lu Jianshun donated $11,700 to Meng under the name “James Lu.”

In total, the Lu brothers have donated more than $30,000 to New York Democrat politicians, the New York Daily News reported in April 2023.

Lu Jianshun could not be reached for comment.

In November 2022, Lu Jianwang and Lu Jianshun attended a rally for Rep. Grace Meng. [Image created by the DCNF with screenshots from TheVoiceOfChinese.com]

In November 2022, Lu Jianwang and Lu Jianshun attended a rally for Rep. Grace Meng. [Image created by the DCNF with screenshots from TheVoiceOfChinese.com]

The Lu brothers’ support for Meng continued even after the FBI raided America Changle’s office in fall 2022, according to Chinese-language news reports.

On Nov. 5, 2022, the Lu brothers attended another campaign rally for Meng outside the Queens Library, according to photos and footage from the Chinese-language outlet TheVoiceOfChinese.com. Photos from the event show Lu Jianwang standing next to Lu Jianshun as he holds a sign that reads “Grace Meng For Congress.”

Ten days before the rally took place, the DCNF reported that both Lu brothers had participated in a March 2021 video call with members of the United Front Work Department (UFWD). During the video call, Lu Jianwang thanked the UFWD for their help in establishing a satellite office within America Changle, the DCNF reported.

The UFWD is the arm of the CCP responsible for intelligence gathering and influence operations, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the DOJ’s National Security Division described the establishment of the alleged overseas Chinese police station supported by America Changle as “beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct,” following Lu Jianwang’s April 17, 2023 arrest.

“We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression,” Olsen said at the time.

Lu Jianwang was released on $250,000 bail the same day of his arrest, court records show. If convicted, Lu Jianwang faces five years in prison for conspiring to act as a Chinese agent and 20 years in prison for obstruction of justice, according to the DOJ.

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