OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other New York Democrats are in hot water after being caught on video appearing to pay homage to China, which is supposed to be the United States’ most significant rival on the world stage.
Schumer waved the flag “just moments after the organizers of a Lunar New Year event blasted China’s national anthem in the middle of Manhattan,” the National Review reported.
“Schumer’s apparent willingness to wave the flag of a foreign authoritarian government calls attention to the strange nature of the New York political world’s engagements with community events that feature a pro-Beijing twist,” NR reported further.
The Senate leader and other leading New York politicians were onstage at a rally ahead of an annual parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown district with Huang Ping, a hard-line Chinese ambassador who has denied China’s human rights abuses, as well as “Wu Xiaoming, a senior consular official linked to China’s secret police station in New York,” the outlet added.
New: Senator Chuck Schumer waved the People’s Republic of China flag onstage at a Lunar New Year event on Sunday.
He and other top New York politicians appeared onstage at a rally, preceding an annual parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown, alongside Huang Ping, a hard-line Chinese… pic.twitter.com/seqf0RhOl0
— Jimmy Quinn (@james_t_quinn) February 26, 2024
Besides Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and several New York legislators and city council members were also in attendance.
The “Star-Spangled Banner” and “March of the Volunteers,” the national anthems of China and the United States, respectively, were both performed near the event’s conclusion by a singer.
NR noted further:
At one point during the latter song, Schumer appeared to put his hand over his heart, before quickly removing it. Then, someone in the crowd attempted to hand Hochul — who waved China’s flag at last year’s event — an American and a Chinese flag. She appeared not to accept them. Instead, Schumer grabbed the two flags and vigorously waved them for a moment.
Remarks by Schumer, Hochul, and others at the event consisted of boilerplate praise of New York’s Chinese-American community and remarks about the importance of fighting anti-Asian racism.
During his speech, Schumer also called for more immigration from China to the U.S.
“I am proud to say that I am a fighter to get comprehensive immigration reform to allow many more Chinese to come to America,” he said.
In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Joe Biden that he planned to absorb Taiwan at some point, even if it meant doing so by force, during their recent summit in San Francisco, according to sources who spoke to NBC.
The outlet noted that the sources said Xi told Biden that China would unify with Taiwan but did not give a timetable. The Chinese leader added during “a group meeting attended by a dozen American and Chinese officials that China’s preference is to take Taiwan peacefully, not by force,” NBC News reported.
During the meeting, the Chinese leader also addressed public forecasts by U.S. military leaders suggesting that Xi intends to annex Taiwan in 2025 or 2027.
According to two current and one former official briefed on the meeting, Xi informed Biden that such predictions were incorrect because he had not specified a specific timeframe for such actions.
Before the summit, Chinese officials requested that Biden publicly affirm that the U.S. supports China’s pursuit of peaceful reunification with Taiwan and does not endorse Taiwanese independence.
The White House declined this request, NBC News reported.
The newly revealed information sheds light on a pivotal meeting between the two leaders to ease tensions between their respective nations, which did not appear to happen.
