John Liu: The Communist

by Karen Zheng

I usually do not read the morning newspaper, but for some indiscernible reason, I accepted it on Thursday, September 10th. It was a special edition of The Epoch Times, and the front page headline read, “NYC Election Infiltrated by the Chinese Communist Party.” It was very anti-John Liu, who was running for New York City comptroller, the primary election being on September 15th.

I met John Liu at a SLI workshop in the summer, and I found him to be quite a likeable and influential Asian-American. He wants Asians to be more politically involved, and is an ideal example of “the American dream.” From the first page, however, I learned that he is backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and has many connections to pro-Communist businesses and associations in the United States. The third page covered inconsistencies found in his campaign finance disclosures – he apparently accepted donations from contributors who were found to have missing required information, and several fundraisers in his name reported incorrect amounts of obtained campaign money. Page five pointed out examples of China's use of democratically elected officials overseas to “accomplish [its] goals, which is to be the most powerful nation on earth.” The paper also discussed John Liu's “shady aides and associates,” namely chief of staff John Choe – who supports communism and Kim Jong II – and former district administrator Ellen Young, who cheated Taiwanese immigrants out of lots of money. It ended with his indifference to hate crimes in Flushing, and the roles that his peers may have played in orchestrating some of them.

At first, I was pretty disturbed by John Liu's communist ties and untrustworthy connections; but I soon realized that the newspaper was evidently biased, and that no rational person would take it seriously. When I showed it to my friend who volunteered for him this past summer, she just laughed and told me that he is not a communist. I thought that calling him the “darling of the CCP-controlled media,” and a supporter of “the CCP's party line rather than democratic principles ... something that many New York voters likely do not wish to endorse,” bordered on ridiculous. I did not think that his campaign's financial discrepancies were a big deal, because I also would have taken anyone's money, even if they did not put their occupation or employer on the form. Comparing John Liu to corrupt politicians was unreasonable, since the writers did not talk about his suppressing democracy like the other politicians did. Lastly, I did not think that both sides of the hate crimes issue was covered, because he may have tried to do something about them but was unable to, or perhaps was advised not to for campaign reasons. I ultimately found that behind the paper's request for New Yorkers to not vote for John Liu, was an extremely hateful view of the CCP and the unjustified belief that John Liu is a representative of it.

John Liu won the comptroller position. His website is: http://www.liunewyork.com/