Democrats in the New York and San Francisco metropolitan areas have continued to cut checks to a Chinese Communist Party-linked media outlet even after the Department of Justice designated it as a foreign agent in August 2021, the Washington Examiner has learned.

Federal, state, and local Democrats have paid Sing Tao News Corporation roughly $800,000 for advertising services since it was forced to register as a foreign agent in 2021, according to public records. At least five out of seven of Sing Tao’s board members are part of the CCP’s United Front Work Department, a global network of party loyalists that the Chinese government has tasked with gathering intelligence and exerting influence, Newsweek reported in May 2024, citing the company’s website, Chinese government documents, and Chinese state media. Two of the company’s directors also serve on the committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a government advisory body.