U.S. lawmakers held a hearing on Capitol Hill on how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) filters money through U.S. non-profit organisations to fuel protests and push radical policies.
“Foreign actors fuelling disruption and illegal activity in America using a dark web of tax-exempt groups,” said Jason Smith, Chairman of Ways and Means Committee.
“The People’s Forum, an American tax-exempt group, hosts events and courses pushing Communist Party propaganda, incites violent protests and riots,” he added.
The committee oversees tax policies and focuses on how money tied to the CCP flows into U.S. non-profit organisations that are tax-exempt.
President of Capital Research Centre Scott Walter said the money is used to reach out to people through various channels to conduct violent protests.
“To operate YouTube channels to reach youth. Others operate fake news websites. Still more— lobby Congress,” he said.
“Federal property vandalised at Union Station. American flags burned and police officers assaulted. Airports blocked at JFK and LAX.”
“This is not grassroots protest. It is a repeatable system for paralysing American infrastructure on demand, financed through U.S. tax law and aligned with a hostile foreign power,“ Walter added.
One example is billionaire Neville Roy Singham, a former U.S. tech executive now based in China’s capital Shanghai.
The panel at the hearing said Singham funnels millions to shell companies that then fund non-profit organisations, which in turn train protestors and even spread pro-CCP propaganda.
“Neville Roy Singham donated over $20 million to the People’s Forum through shell companies.” Smith said.
Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director of Americans for Public Trust, said the problem is the tax code itself where loopholes allow unlimited foreign cash into non-profits without disclosure.
“There is no real requirement that discloses anywhere that they are receiving foreign funds,” Sutherland said. “This is a huge threat to foreign interference in our elections.”
Many also tie the funding directly to swaying U.S. policies.
U.S. lawmaker Ron Estes said the money is used in a movement to push for the defunding of the U.S. agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that enforces immigration laws in the U.S.
“Most recently, non-profit groups have joined a push to defund ICE and attack law enforcement after receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations linked to the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
The witnesses are pushing the U.S. Congress to close loopholes in federal law that allows unlimited foreign cash flows into non-profits centres.
A bill is now moving its way through Congress that would do that on the federal level.
Some states in the U.S. such as Alabama and Michigan had passed laws last week to block foreign money in ballot measures.
