❓WHAT HAPPENED: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) appointed two bankers with ties to Chinese intelligence to her transition advisory team, raising concerns over potential CCP influence.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Karen Bass, Dominic Ng (East West Bank CEO), Simon Pang (Royal Business Bank co-founder), and Chinese government-linked organizations.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Appointments were made in December 2022 to Bass’s mayoral transition advisory team in Los Angeles.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I absolutely believe that anyone holding a United Front position and then landing a spot on a mayor’s transition team is a huge red flag.” – Investigative journalist Sam Cooper
🎯IMPACT: The appointments have prompted scrutiny of Bass’s administration, with experts warning of CCP influence over U.S. politics.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s transition advisory team included Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank, and Simon Pang, co-founder of Royal Business Bank. Both men have ties to Chinese intelligence and have fundraised for Bass and a nonprofit she advises.
Ng and Pang, who collectively donated over $1 million to Bass’s mayoral campaign and the Mayor’s Fund For Los Angeles, have been linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) United Front Work Department (UFWD), an influence and intelligence arm of the Chinese government. While their roles on Bass’ advisory team remain unclear, their connections to CCP organizations have raised concerns among experts.
Investigative journalist Sam Cooper stated, “I absolutely believe that anyone holding a United Front position and then landing a spot on a mayor’s transition team is a huge red flag.” He added, “When donors connected to United Front groups have significant wealth and show up constantly around politicians, they’re there for a reason.”
The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, which has received significant contributions from Ng and East West Bank, has also been questioned for its donor vetting process.
China is aggressively engaged in espionage throughout America and the wider West, with two Chinese nationals being arrested for allegedly spying on the U.S. Navy, attempting to recruit U.S. servicemen, and acting as unregistered agents of China’s Ministry of State Security late last month.
Last September, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer was found guilty of conspiring to provide classified information to Chinese intelligence officials.
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