A woman serving as a senior counselor to California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the daughter of a leader of a genealogical nonprofit with apparent CCP — and possibly intelligence — connections, raising legitimate concerns about data privacy and national security, reports the Daily Caller.
Amy Tong frequently acts as Newsom’s envoy, leading people-to-people exchanges between California and China, and has been dispatched to negotiate with both Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and Chinese intelligence personnel.
Her father, Peter B.C. Huang, is the founder of the nonprofit Dazhonghua Family Tree Development Association (DAZUPU), which creates a large-scale genealogical database of Chinese American families.
DAZUPU’s database reportedly includes sensitive personal information — including names, dates of birth, and photos — for over 189,000 profiles, of which more than 18,000 are within the U.S.
And the nonprofit has established multiple partnerships with the United Front Work Department (UFWD) — a key CCP influence and intelligence agency. The organization’s leadership reportedly includes high-ranking party members and military officers.
The connection is concerning, said Gordon Chang, China expert and author of “Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America.”
“China’s regime coerces ethnic Chinese in other countries by, among other things, threatening harm to relatives, especially relatives remaining in China.”
“The more the regime knows about family members, the easier it is to find pressure points,” Chang added. “The genealogical database will facilitate the regime’s ability to weaponize ethnic Chinese around the world, turning them into spies and worse.”
A spokesperson for Newsom’s office said Tong has undergone vetting, including consultations with “appropriate federal agencies.” However, the office declined to address questions regarding her family’s ties to Beijing or DAZUPU’s connections to UFWD and Chinese intelligence.
Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, a nonprofit focused on countering the CCP, told the DCNF that the Chinese government is interested in building such a database “because they assert control over ethnic Chinese across the globe, regardless of their citizenship.”
“Their goal is intelligence gathering and building out more extensive apparatus for transnational repression against ethnic Chinese who are citizens of other countries,” he added.
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