On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, shocking news emerged from the Brooklyn Avenue in New York – YiBing Wang, the president of the Taishan Overseas Chinese Women’s Association, was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She was supposed to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration but suddenly went missing. Rumors circulated among the community leaders with a secretive photo showing two law enforcement officers wearing vests with the words “Police” and “Federal Agent” on them, handcuffing Wang Yi Bing. She was wearing a white knitted sweater, a green apron with the words “Diversity Food – (with) benefit card, delivery service available”, with a look of fear and despair on the edge of tears and collapse.
According to the ICE website, Yi Bing Wang is currently being held at an ICE processing center in Louisiana. Her attorney Edward J. Cuccia replied to Epoch Times, stating, “I do represent Ms. Wang, but the situation is currently very chaotic. I hope to receive more information in the coming days.”
A community leader, who chose to remain anonymous, disclosed to Epoch Times that he had met Yi Bing Wang in early September. At the time she confessed that she had been “sued and had to go to court,” and asked the community leader’s organization to write a recommendation letter for her, proving her “contributions to the community,” and mentioned a court appearance scheduled for October 11th. The leader revealed that she had been interrogated by the FBI before, so he declined to assist her, saying “she is controversial, and we have to protect ourselves.”
A described an encounter with Wang Yi Bing two weeks ago, where she casually mentioned that “things were settled” and believed she would win the lawsuit. However, she was arrested last Friday, October 3. A reflected, “This time she will definitely be deported back to China, the rules at ICE have changed, and these cases are now ineligible for bail.” A lamented, “It’s better to keep things simple as a person. Like Leung Shing Wan, the president of the Heung Yee Kuk in Texas and Houston, who was sentenced in China a few years ago. China considers him a foreign agent, and the U.S. also considers him a foreign agent. Neither side treated him as a human being.”
Another community leader, B, revealed that Yi Bing Wang “immigrated to the U.S. through marriage” and might have been arrested due to issues with her marriage green card.
A shared a similar opinion, believing that when she came to the U.S. in 2017, her marriage might have been suspected of being a sham, and two years later, the marriage failed, and the green card was not approved. Reports in the media stated that in March 2024, she married a U.S. citizen, allowing her to stay in the U.S. to submit a new green card application, “but the previous case, if it leaves a fraudulent record in the immigration system, could have led to this arrest.”
“She was so high-profile, exposing herself in the community and political activities every day; in such a situation, China won’t even acknowledge her,” A commented. “In fact, for someone like her without legal status, it would have been better to just live quietly and find a way to make a living.”
Community member, Ling Fei, expressed shock at her arrest, “Such a high-profile person, can you believe she didn’t have a legal status?” He recalled that on September 23, Wang Yi Bing held the “Mid-Autumn Taishan Specialty Taro Contest,” inviting officials from the New York Consulate General, along with State Senator Chen Xueli and State Assemblyman William Colton.
Yi Bing Wang was viewed in the community as “energetic, savvy, and scheming.” The immigrant news website “Documented” reported that at the age of 47, she was a manager of an insurance company in China before immigrating to the U.S. with her elementary school-aged child following a divorce in 2017, settling in Brooklyn and opening a grocery store near Eighth Avenue, stocking it with Chinese snacks and health foods.
However, in 2018, just a year after her arrival, she organized a grand “Thousand People Cheongsam Event” in New York. She invited various groups in New York to participate in the “Waving to the World – Cheongsam Cultural Tour of the Belt and Road Initiative” organized by the “Sino-U.S. Cultural Industry Center,” reportedly gaining support from various overseas Chinese organizations.
In January 2022, according to a report by the local party committee organ “Fujian Daily” under the CCP published media outlet “Southeast Net,” the New York Taishan Overseas Chinese Women’s Association representatives distributed “New Year Packages” provided by the New York Consulate. A remarked, “She was so proactive, of course, she had packages, some possibly even given by Chen Shanzhuang.”
A reminisced that he first met her at a community dinner in 2018, “Our table was full of prominent figures in the overseas Chinese community, and she managed to sit there, quite flamboyant.” He also revealed that after he hosted an event recently, Yi Bing Wang called him asking for introductions because “she wanted to make a name for herself in politics.”
Yi Bing Wang’s trouble did not start with ICE. In early 2023, she publicly confessed to being questioned by the FBI for two and a half hours. She described how two men confirmed their identities, asked about her relationship with the New York Consulate General, whether she had private contacts with multiple consuls, and if she was involved in espionage. She denied all allegations, explaining that she only helped the elderly use the Chinese Consulate App to process their health certificates.
She said the agents went through her WeChat records on her phone, took pictures of several conversations, and refused to leave contact information.
According to the “Documented” report in March 2024, FBI agents questioned her in her Brooklyn grocery store, “Why do you work for the Consulate General? What benefits do they give you? Are you against Taiwan independence?”
The report mentioned that in 2019, Yi Bing Wang established the “Chimerica Women’s Association,” named after the term “Chimerica” symbolizing the close connection between China and the U.S. The association mainly consisted of women from her hometown of Taishan, and had close ties with the consulate.
The FBI was particularly concerned about her participation in a protest when Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te transited through the U.S., questioning whether the Communist Party red flags she distributed in the crowd were given to her by a consulate. Agents even bluntly stated, “You are working for the consulate, this is espionage.”
It is said that over the past year, about a dozen Chinese community leaders have been questioned by the FBI.
According to reports, in late August 2023, Yi Bing Wang received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security requesting her to come for an interview at the immigration office in Manhattan Federal Plaza. Knowing her status had expired, she went for the appointment on time. When officials indicated they could “detain her immediately,” she was asked to sign an English document that involved transferring the case to the FBI.
The same group of agents who had visited her store previously appeared, taking her to an unmarked room for questioning for another five hours, focusing once again on Yi Bing Wang’s dealings with the New York Consulate General. They were particularly interested in an event she helped arrange at the end of the previous year, a “Meeting between the Guangdong Community Leaders and the Consul of the Consulate General,” suspecting her role as a coordinator or contact.
Later, immigration officials approved her release and provided a court hearing date. In March 2024, she remarried a U.S. citizen, submitted a new green card application, thinking she would pass smoothly. Now being held by ICE, the community generally believes the risk of deportation is very high.