All Welcome, Except Some

A Chinese foreign agent is behind an Asian American parade in New York City with Mayor Eric Adams, but not everyone is invited

- DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW

WHAT HAS BECOME AN ANNUAL PARADE IN midtown Manhattan for Asian Americans was set up with the blessing of New York City Mayor Eric Adams by the CEO of a company that is a registered foreign agent of China, according to documents obtained exclusively by Newsweek.

The findings raise new questions over Chinese influence on operations in the U.S., and particularly in New York, where Adams and some other top politicians have previously received campaign donations from members of groups linked to China's ruling Communist Party. Newsweek has reported on the extensive network of such groups in the U.S.

The annual Asian American parade began in 2022 and was expected to take place on Manhattan's Sixth Avenue on May 19 as part of the city's "Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month." The parade said it welcomes all Asian Americans, but documents obtained by Newsweek show that organizers exclude groups they deem to be politically and religiously controversial and critics of China's rulers believe that means them.

Tibetans, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and others at odds with the Beijing leadership of the Chinese Communist Party questioned how representative the parade was of the Asian American community.

They had not been invited to take part, were not successful in applying or didn't want to join as they felt unsafe, they said.

Among them was Frances Hui, founder of community group We The Hongkongers. She said that two weeks after applying, all she had received was requests for more information, to which she had responded. "It's obvious to me that they are trying to stall our application until they can find a way to reject us from participating," said Hui.