Pro-China Network Funds Week of Anti-US Protests as Xi Meets Trump
A network of pro-China organizations funded by tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham staged coordinated protests from Austin to New York, raising concerns among lawmakers about foreign influence as President Trump prepares for high-stakes talks with Xi Jinping.
As President Donald Trump prepares for high-stakes negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a network of pro-China organizations funded by tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham has staged a week of coordinated protests from New York City to Austin, creating images of rolling street unrest that lawmakers warn China can exploit to project a perception of chaos in the United States.
The protests, publicly framed as separate events focused on immigration, climate change, artificial intelligence, militarism and Israel, share sponsorships that reveal how organizations within the broader Singham network move quickly from one issue to another. The sequencing of events, combined with messaging sharply critical of the United States and silent on China's human-rights, environmental and civil-liberties record, has raised questions about whether some activists function as «Trojan horses» for foreign adversaries.
On Monday, Singham's wife, Jodie Evans, wore her trademark fuchsia straw hat and protested across from the United Nations on E. 47th Street, smiling next to agitators from the far-left CodePink nonprofit she co-founded. The activists railed against the U.S. military and what they called its «all-out climate and environmental devastation,» then marched to OpenAI offices to demonstrate against data centers they allege «drive war» and «economic degradation.»
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Fox News Digital that «the American people need to know that this is not just an organic movement. There has to be more transparency across all areas with these kinds of activities.» Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said the network's grassroots image belies the serious funding infrastructure behind the groups. «In these situations where you have groups that portray themselves as grassroots, it's really more Astroturf, very fake,» he said, adding that the protests «raise serious concerns» about malign foreign influence.
Moolenaar called for «clarification and transparency» regarding the organizations' finances and questioned whether they should continue receiving tax-exempt status, noting their political involvement may violate «campaign rules and political rules here in the United States.»
The significance of the week's activity is heightened by the scale of Singham's financial support. An investigation has documented how Singham has pumped $285 million through a donor-advised fund and shell companies into a network of six major nonprofits, media outlets and activist organizations that have promoted anti-American and pro-China messaging. Singham has given CodePink $1.33 million, the People's Forum $22.44 million, and BreakThrough BT Media $1.098 million.
The Justice Department's Southern District of New York has convened a federal grand jury investigation into Singham's financial network, examining whether he, the organizations he funded or their leaders engaged in alleged wire fraud, bank fraud or money laundering. Singham has not been charged with a crime, and the investigation does not establish that he personally directed each protest. Singham, the People's Forum, CodePink and BreakThrough News have not responded to requests for comment.
The sequence began Sunday night in Austin, where socialist and communist organizations rapidly promoted an anti-ICE protest after the shooting of Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez. The Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Party for Socialism and Liberation amplified calls for demonstrators to gather at 8121 Research Blvd. Although media accounts described the protest as organic, the mobilization moved through an existing national activist infrastructure. The Singham network's Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization circulated video and protest messaging, while Democratic Socialists of America promoted the gathering as «spontaneous.»
Recently, Evans posted a video lauding China for building an economy that helps citizens «grow and thrive.» Last year, Singham delivered a speech in China supporting the Chinese Communist Party and Xi's «new world order.» Lawmakers have warned that the cumulative visibility of such actions shapes public perceptions, projects an image of instability and gives foreign adversaries a potential messaging and negotiating advantage as Trump prepares for talks with Xi this week.
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