The New York Times reports that the Chinese Consulate in Manhattan has quietly mobilized at least 53 hometown and community associations to influence municipal and state elections across New York City. Many of the groups—formally registered as U.S. nonprofit charities—have raised funds, endorsed candidates and pressured voters, activities that are generally barred for tax-exempt entities. Consulate-aligned activists have derailed the careers of politicians viewed as unfriendly to Beijing and promoted those who support Communist Party positions, according to dozens of association members, current and former officials, and law-enforcement interviews cited by the paper. Targets included a congressional hopeful who once confronted Chinese state television, a state senator ousted after meeting Taiwan’s president, and a City Council contender criticized for backing Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Federal scrutiny is intensifying. In 2023 the FBI arrested leaders of the America Changle Association for running an unauthorized Chinese police outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and last year prosecutors charged a former aide to Governor Kathy Hochul with conspiring with association heads under consulate direction. FBI agents have recently questioned additional Chinatown leaders about consular pressure, signaling broader concern that foreign interference could spread from city races to national politics.