The “Asian Heritage Month Grand Parade” organized by Better Chinatown USA always invites the Consul General of the Chinese Communist Party in New York and consuls from various countries to participate, while some groups with dissenting views from Beijing are not seen in the parade.
For the past three years, the Asian Heritage Month Parade has been organized by Better Chinatown USA, but according to a report by Newsweek on May 12th, Mei Jianguo, the executive director of Sing Tao Daily, is also one of the main operators.
Sing Tao Daily was required by the U.S. Department of Justice to register as a foreign agent in 2021. In addition, Mei Jianguo is also the executive senior consultant of Better Chinatown USA.
When asked by our reporter during the parade on the 19th whether he had ever rejected parade applications from Hong Kong or Taiwanese groups, Mei Jianguo redirected the question to Steven: “I only took the application, you should ask Steven. He is the organizer.”
Mei Jianguo, wearing sunglasses and a duckbill cap, walked inconspicuously behind the procession, displaying a badge showing his role as “executive senior consultant” at Better Chinatown USA.
When asked by our reporter if they had ever rejected parade applications from Hong Kong groups, Better Chinatown USA Director Steven Tian replied, “I don’t have time,” and then promptly walked away.
Despite consistently inviting Consul General Huang Ping of the Chinese Communist Party in New York to attend the Asian Heritage Month Parade, sources revealed that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, representing the Republic of China, has never received an invitation from the organizers.
Founder of “We The Hongkongers,” Hui Yingting, told Newsweek that their application was not approved after applying.
On the official website of Better Chinatown USA, the application form for the second Asian Heritage Month Parade states, “The parade committee welcomes non-controversial ‘political or religious’ (for security reasons) groups to participate,” and that participation must be approved by the parade committee before receiving an official invitation.
However, on the 19th, it was witnessed on-site that a group advocating for human rights and democracy in Vietnam, under the Republic of Vietnam, joined the parade in a yellow sedan with slogans such as “Fighting for human rights and democracy in Vietnam” and “No democracy under communist rule,” while no representatives from the internationally recognized government of Vietnam were present.
Outside the main stage of the third Asian Heritage Month Parade stood a group from the Lingnan Association holding flags representing the Shanghai Republic (also known as the Shanghai Democratic Party), Tibet, Chinese Christian organizations, Mongolia, Guangzhou, Manchukuo, and the symbol of the Republic of China.
When interviewed, Lingnan Association President Cao Aizhuang stated that when Better Chinatown USA held an event in front of the traditional Chinese club on October 1 last year, he stood in front of Huang Ping and said, “You cannot represent China in doing such things.”
Cao Aizhuang said he was harassed at the time, with people telling him to move and even auxiliary police coming to investigate, but he was unharmed afterwards. “I later stood aside holding a flag; they cannot represent Hong Kong or Taiwan.”
Figo, a new immigrant from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, commented, “This is an event that showcases Asian culture, but the organizers did not invite Taiwan, Hong Kong, and people from regions oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, including Tibet. This reflects being dominated by the CCP and does not align with the spirit of America, which is a place of freedom where everyone should have a platform to express themselves.”
In comparison to last year, the main stage of the third Asian Heritage Month Parade did not see a representative from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office attend, and Mayor Eric Adams’ senior advisor, Winnie Greco, who had just experienced an FBI raid on his residence, was also absent.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams participated in the parade according to his schedule and was seated next to Consul General Huang Ping of the Chinese Communist Party in New York.
When handed a sash provided by Better Chinatown USA, Adams waved it away. The seat left for Congresswoman Grace Meng was also vacant.
State Senator Yuwen Qu, State Assemblyman Wing Chiang, City Councilwoman Wenyi Zhuang, and Tarik Sheppard, Deputy Director of Public Information at the New York City Police Department (NYPD), also joined the parade.
Throughout the parade, neither the main stage nor the first group of the procession displayed the five-star red flag; only the American Fujian Association and several overseas Chinese groups displayed float.