The Daily — "Threats and Cash: How China Meddles in U.S. Local Elections"

Date: August 28, 2025
Hosts: Rachel Abrams with guest reporter Mike Forsyth

Overview

This episode explores how the Chinese government is attempting to influence local politics in the U.S., specifically in New York City. Using detailed investigative reporting, Rachel Abrams and Mike Forsyth illuminate channels of interference—ranging from envelopes of cash given at campaign events to pressure applied through Chinese hometown associations—culminating in efforts to sway electoral outcomes and policy positions. The podcast grounds its story in a recent, bizarre incident involving a bag of potato chips and hidden cash given to a reporter, then expands out to map a broader, more systematic campaign of influence, threats, and manipulation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Inciting Incident: Cash in a Bag of Chips

• [00:01-01:19] Rachel Abrams recaps a viral news story: after a campaign event for New York Mayor Eric Adams, reporter Katie Honan was handed a bag of potato chips by Adams’ advisor, Winnie Greco, who has ties to China. Inside: a red envelope with $300 cash.
  • Honan quote: "She says, oh, have the chips. Have the chips. I refused the chips multiple times." (00:41)
  • Outcome: Money was not accepted; Greco apologized, calling it a "mistake."

2. Not an Isolated Incident: Patterns of Cash Gifts

• [01:58-03:36] Mike Forsyth shares his experience receiving envelopes of cash as a reporter in Beijing 25 years ago, a common practice called "transportation fees."
  • Forsyth: "Reporters in China often do get these envelopes of cash…. But what surprised me was that Adams' longtime advisor would do this... to a reporter for an American news organization." (03:08)
• Forsyth and colleagues witnessed similar cash exchanges in red envelopes at three recent Adams campaign events held in the Chinese American community.
  • Note: The Adams campaign denied knowledge of these payments.

3. A Broader Inquiry: Chinese Government Influence Campaigns

• [04:32-04:46] The podcast pivots to Forsyth’s larger investigation: how the Chinese government uses sophisticated, subtle means to shape local and state elections and suppress dissenting political stances, especially regarding Taiwan.

4. The Case of Sen. I Wen Chu

• [05:07-11:53]
  • Background: I Wen Chu, born in Taiwan, wins a Brooklyn state senate seat in 2022—the first Asian American woman to do so in New York State.
  • Trigger Event: She attends a NYC banquet with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing Wen.
  • Aftermath: Chu receives angry calls from constituents. Shortly after, her chief of staff is summoned to meet a senior Chinese consulate official, who warns them that community members are upset.
    • Forsyth: "After she went to this event with the Taiwan president, everything changed. She became a pariah." (10:07)
  • Consulate Action: Beijing’s "main man" in NYC, John Chan, orchestrates the selection and support of a Republican opponent, Steve Chan. The opponent wins in 2024, flipping the only state senate seat that cycle and costing Democrats their supermajority.
    • Forsyth: "It appeared that the Chinese consulate was pulling some strings to get what they wanted out of this election." (11:59)

5. Mechanisms: Hometown Associations

• [12:59-17:57]
  • Description: Hundreds of tightly-knit, highly-organized, Chinese hometown associations (同乡会, Tongxianghui) exist in NYC, bonding Chinese immigrants from specific regions or cities.
    • Activities: Support for newcomers, social events, banquets, and in some instances, overt celebrations of Chinese nationalism.
  • Evidence: Red envelopes and consular officials administering oaths using Communist Party messaging at association events. Sometimes these groups pledge to uphold reunification with China (i.e., the absorption of Taiwan).
    • Forsyth: "They were parroting Chinese policies while taking an oath from a Chinese government official in Brooklyn." (16:45)

6. "Cutting Off" Politicians

• [18:14-20:47]
  • After Chu's Taiwan event, hometown associations, influenced by the consulate, withdraw support and social invitations. The community's public figures distance themselves, helping her opponent win.
  • Explanation: Leaders of associations often have business interests in China that consulate officials can threaten—or reward—depending on cooperation.

7. Additional Examples of Interference

• [22:24-24:15]
  • Forsyth’s team found similar patterns in other races, including U.S. congressional and city council campaigns.
    • Case: A Chinese American and former Tiananmen protest leader ran for Congress in 2022. He faced a smear and harassment campaign, including a plot to hire a prostitute to embarrass him, masterminded by a Chinese spy and a local PI, per federal indictment. Hometown leaders, he says, told him they couldn't support him due to consulate pressure.
  • Forsyth: "He was being undermined... not getting support from the community that he expected. He lost badly." (24:15)

8. Why Local Politics?

• [24:34-26:49]
  • Chinese government history: The Communist Party is acutely aware that change in China has often begun overseas, among diaspora communities (e.g., the 1911 revolution's roots abroad).
  • Suppressing dissent and cultivating relationships with politicians today may yield powerful allies if those individuals rise in national politics.
  • Forsyth: "They're playing the long game. Cultivate them now, and maybe later you'll have a really important ally at a high level of government." (26:47)

9. Global Scope & Democratic Values

• [27:04-28:18]
  • Similar interference documented in Australia and Canada.
  • The aim: discourage U.S. politicians from discussing sensitive topics (democracy in Hong Kong, Taiwan independence, etc.), undermining democratic principles on American soil.
    • Forsyth: "These beliefs... are really fundamental beliefs that anyone around the world who treasures liberty, freedom, democracy should be deeply concerned about." (28:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On personal experience:
  • Mike Forsyth: "I have also received an envelope with cash in it... as a cub reporter in Beijing... I was filled with righteous indignation." — [02:26]
• On consulate's methods:
  • "It quickly became obvious this meeting was not just about discussing New York and China affairs..." — [09:23]
• On pressure placed via business:
  • "A fear that their business interests back in China... could be jeopardized if they don't do what they're told." — [21:20]
• Long-term strategy:
  • "They're playing the long game. If they can cultivate relationships among politicians at the local level, who's to say that these people don't somehow rise up?" — [25:51]
• On global context and the threat to democracy:
  • "These beliefs... are really fundamental beliefs that anyone around the world who treasures liberty, freedom, democracy should be deeply concerned about." — [28:18]

Important Timestamps

• 00:01–01:19 — The potato chip cash incident
• 02:26–03:36 — Forsyth’s own envelope experience and context
• 05:07–11:53 — The case of State Senator I Wen Chu
• 12:59–17:57 — How hometown associations work as influence channels
• 18:14–20:47 — Social consequences for politicians defying China
• 22:24–24:15 — Interference in Congressional elections and criminal intimidation
• 24:34–26:49 — Why Beijing cares about local races and long-term strategy
• 27:04–28:18 — Broader scope in the West and implications for democracy

Tone & Style

The episode maintains the NYT’s signature narrative tone—measured, investigative, inquisitive, and sometimes incredulous at the brazenness uncovered. The reporters’ exchange is heavily fact-based, but personal anecdotes and on-the-ground details make the subject vivid and relatable.

Conclusion

This episode pulls back the curtain on the way Beijing is leveraging diaspora institutions, economic ties, and even local corruption to exert influence over American elections—from state senators to city council members. The reporting suggests these actions are not only a local concern but a piece of a global Chinese Communist Party strategy to shape democratic environments wherever Chinese communities reside.

Essential Takeaway:
Beijing’s efforts to control narratives and political outcomes among the Chinese diaspora in the U.S. are far more organized—and consequential—than most Americans are aware. The tools are both subtle (community pressure, red-envelope gifting) and sinister (threats, dirty tricks, blackmail), raising urgent questions about the resilience of U.S. democracy at the most local levels.