Washington DC [US], April 10 : Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on China and Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) of the House Committee on Ways and Means have urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) CEO Frank Bisignano to review tax-exempt organisations based in the United States that have links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and are involved in China's United Front influence activities in the country, according to a statement released by the Select Committee on the CCP (SCCCP).
"The People's Republic of China (PRC) is utilizing United Front organizations, proxies, and intermediaries within the United States, many granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, to engage in political activity that manipulates our democratic institutions and supports the interests of the CCP," write Chairmen Moolenaar and Smith in a letter to Secretary Bessent and IRS CEO Bisignano, as quoted by SCCCP release.
"The cases include a particularly egregious event involving a candidate for Congress in New York. In addition to facing threats from Chinese government agents that sought to sabotage the candidate's campaign and impugn his character for his involvement in the Tiananmen student protests, community organizations that provide a venue for local candidates were reportedly threatened, coerced, or co-opted by the PRC consulate to deny the candidate a stage to engage the community. Local leaders who participated in meetings with foreign leaders that the CCP opposes were censored by hometown associations. Tellingly, leaders of hometown associations have explicitly endorsed candidates for office in clear violation of rules against political campaign intervention," they add, as quoted by the release.
As outlined in the Select Committee's 2023 United Front 101 memo, the United Front functions as "a distinct combination of engagement, influence efforts, and intelligence operations" employed by the CCP to "shape its political environment, including influencing other countries' policies toward the PRC and gaining access to advanced foreign technology," according to the SCCCP.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Ways and Means conducted a hearing examining how foreign entities are exploiting the U.S. tax-exempt sector to spread division, disorder, and hostility within communities across the nation, while also undermining America's political discourse. The SCCCP release further noted that this network is financed by Neville Roy Singham, a former U.S. technology entrepreneur now residing in Shanghai with close connections to the CCP.
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