China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification

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China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification
中国和平统一促进会
AbbreviationCCPPNR
FormationSeptember 22, 1988;35 years ago (1988-09-22)
Purpose Chinese unification
HeadquartersBeijing
President
Wang Huning
Executive Vice President
Shi Taifeng
Parent organization
United Front Work Department
Website www.zhongguotongcuhui.org.cn OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The council is a united front organization, designed to promote unification with Taiwan, coming under the purview of the United Front Work Department. It is led by a president, elected at a plenary meeting of the council; though not required by law, the CCPPNR is usually led by the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, while the UFWD director serves as its executive vice president. [11]

According to scholar Anne-Marie Brady, in addition to promoting unification, "the organization also engages in a range of activities which support Chinese foreign policy goals, including block-voting and fund-raising for ethnic Chinese political candidates who agree to support their organization's agenda." [4] Scholars and observers have noted that the council and its events are part of the political influence agenda of the CCP and that Taiwan has never been under the control of the CCP. [1] [8]

Branches

The council's main body oversees over 200 chapters in multiple countries. [6] As of 2019, the council had chapters in at least 91 countries, as well as five transnational chapters. [1]

Australia

In 2019, it was reported that the Australia-based branch, the Australia Council for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification (ACPPRC), was not registered as a foreign agent even though it acts to influence Australian politics. [12] [13] [14] The ACPPRC was previously headed by Huang Xiangmo who was subsequently banned from entering Australia due to national security concerns. [15] [16]

Japan

The Japanese branch of the council was established in Tokyo in 2000. [17] Its affiliate branches include All-Japan Overseas Chinese China Peaceful Reunification Council (全日本華僑華人中国平和統一促進会), established in 2005, and the All-Japan Chinese Council for the Promotion of the Peaceful Unification of China (全日本華人促進中国平和統一協議会), established in 2018. The council also lists the Japan Overseas Chinese Federation (日本华侨华人联合会) as an affiliate in its website. [17]

Turkey

The Turkish branch of the council is called the China Peaceful Unification Association (CPUA, 土耳其中国和平统一促进会, Turkish : Çin’in Barışçıl Birleşmesi Derneği). [18] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, the CPUA has donated medical face masks to the Istanbul municipal government, as well as to Istanbul's Maltepe and Beşiktaş districts. [18]

United States

In the United States, multiple local councils exist and a national-level council is registered as a non-profit called the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification (NACPU). [19] [6] [8] NACPU is also registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). [8] [6] Some of NACPU's leadership overlaps with a similar group, the Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification (ACPR), which has organized protests against visits to the U.S. by Taiwanese officials such as Tsai Ing-wen. [20] In 2019, the council had 36 chapter organizations throughout the US, located across ten states, Washington, D.C., as well as US territories of Puerto Rico and Guam. [6]

In 2019, U.S. congressional representative Judy Chu was named "honorary chairwoman" of a branch council called the Forums for Peaceful Reunification of China, an organization opposed to Taiwanese independence. [21]

In 2019, Li "Cindy" Yang, a vice-president of the organization's Florida-based council, was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly "peddling access" to Mar-a-Lago. [22] [23] [24] Subsequently, the Florida branch, named the Florida Association for China Unification Inc., filed for dissolution. [23]

In September 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the State Department had begun reviewing the activities of the CCPPNR in the U.S. [25] In October 2020, NACPU was designated a foreign mission by the United States Department of State. [26] [27]

In 2022, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a warning notice to state and local leaders citing the NACPU, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the United Front Work Department. [28] [29]

In 2023, the founder of the Texas Council for the Promotion of China's Peaceful Reunification, John Shing-Wan Leung, was jailed for life in China on espionage charges. [30]

In May 2023, the founder of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China (NEAPUC), Liang Litang, was indicted for acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and for surveilling and harassing Chinese dissidents. [31]

See also

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CCPPNR organization
Simplified Chinese 中国和平统一促进会
Traditional Chinese 中國和平統一促進會
Literal meaningOrganization for Promoting Peaceful Reunification of China