New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) may not be an actual communist, but based on his fashion choices and the company he has been keeping, some wonder what would be different if he were. Adams has notably been sporting a red scarf that is the garb of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Believe them when they show you who they are.
Eric Adams sports Chinese Communist Party scarves — but says they're just innocent gifts https://t.co/WB9huDSYKc via @nypmetro— Wendy 🦅🇺🇸🦅 (@OneGeorgiaPeach) February 28, 2024
The scarf symbolizes those who gave their blood for communism, and Adams wore it for two Chinese festivals this past weekend in Brooklyn and Chinatown. Last month, he wore a similar red scarf at a Lunar New Year event — and the Chinese state-run media commented favorably on it.
At last Sunday’s Chinatown parade, his scarf bore the logo of a group known as Asian American Community Empowerment (BRACE), which has links to CCP groups whose goal is spreading Communism outside of China. BRACE is run by John Chan, a known supporter of Chinese President Xi.
Chan has indeed been a visible proponent of Communist China. Last November he was present in San Francisco for President Xi’s visit to the United States. As far back as 1999 and 2000, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of Chinese Communism by flying CCP flags in New Jersey and Queens.
In a statement to the press, a spokesman for the mayor downplayed his connection with Chan: “[The Mayor] is not friends with John Chan, and in no way endorses BRACE or any other organization he’s associated with. The mayor joined these events to support New York City’s local Chinese community and Councilmember Zhuang.”
The spokesperson also told the New York Post that the scarf was simply a gift.
But the mayor has a much closer connection to the CCP. Winnie Greco has served as a special advisor to Mayor Adams since the start of his term in January 2022. She has also served as a consultant to several CCP-linked groups, including the Dong Guan Association of America and the Fujian Daily Southeast Network. Her name is listed on the Dong Guan Association website and the official state Chinese media identified her as a Fujian Daily Southeast consultant back in 2016.
Despite these “one degree of separation” connections to the CCP, the mayor’s spokesperson released a statement supporting Greco, while playing the obligatory Iiberal “race card.”
“She is not a consultant for anything – or anyone – and only serves this administration and the 8.3 million New Yorkers who call this city home. Any insinuation otherwise is nothing short of fear-mongering, unfounded, and only contributes to unwarranted prejudice towards the Asian community that has already endured far too much hostility in the last few years.”
The NYC mayor’s donning of red CCP scarves and close association with Beijing-connected people are the latest breadcrumbs in what some say is a larger and distributing trend.
Chinese military-age men are crossing the southern border in larger numbers, and Chinese elected officials are infiltrating urban politics. A Hong Kong national was recently appointed to an election board in San Francisco.
Some question whether the CCP is slowly infiltrating the United States from within — and whether Mayor Adams’ fashion choice is a canary in that coal mine.