Schumer spotted posing for photo with CCP official as warnings swirl about China influence | Fox News

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FIRST ON FOX: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been repeatedly photographed this month sharing a stage with a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official who has publicly denied China's alleged genocide against the Uyghur population.

Chinese Consul General in New York Chen Li has posted multiple photos of him posing with Schumer on his X profile this month, including attending at least two Chinese parades.

"Thrilled to join thousands at the [Brooklyn] Lantern Festival Parade!" Chen recently posted on X along with a photo standing with Schumer at the annual Lantern Festival parade in New York City.

"Incredible #Chinese cultural performances—so proud of Chinese Community in New York! It's time for celebration and friendship!" he added.

CHINESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED CCP, DENIED UYGHUR GENOCIDE VISITS WITH THREE MORE TOP UNIVERSITIES

Sen. Chuck Schumer, center left, and Chinese Consul General in New York Chen Li, center, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, center right, at the Lunar New Year Parade.(China NY Consulate on X)

In another post on Monday that included Schumer and anti-Trump Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Chen said he was "glad to join the 27th NYC Lunar New Year Parade together with" all his American "friends" and Chinese "fellow-countrymen."

Chen has previously denied China's alleged genocide against the Uyghur population, which has been condemned by many on the world stage, including the United Nations.

"It's hard to imagine how could 'genocide' and 'forced labor' associated with such a place where population grows steadily, society is safe and open, and people enjoy happy life. Where do the accusations come from?" Chen wrote in 2021. "'Genocide' was claimed by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the very last day of his term. It was based on reports fabricated by some extremist anti-China individuals who haven't been to Xinjiang for years and accounts of a few so-called witnesses who were proved to be trained 'actors' and 'actresses.'"

The CCP has long claimed its "re-education camps" are voluntary and work only to stamp out extremism, but the leaked documents and photos have shown the camps are far from voluntary, Fox News Digital previously reported.

'WARM HOSPITALITY': UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT HAS REPEATEDLY COZIED UP TO TOP CCP OFFICIALS

Huang Ping, right, visits with leadership at Conde Nast on Nov. 1.(Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York)

Fox News Digital spoke to an expert on U.S.-China relations, who pushed back on the idea of elected officials publicly fraternizing with CCP officials.

"The Chinese Communist Party is actively seeking to weaken America from within. Elected officials shouldn't share the stage with them; they should be working to defeat Beijing," Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik told Fox News Digital.

"It sends mixed signals when politicians talk about countering the CCP one day then break bread with them the next," he added.

Chinese Consul General in New York Chen Li and Sen. Chuck Schumer at the NYC Lantern Festival.(China NY Consulate)

Schumer has previously been criticized for associating with Chen's predecessor at the consulate, Huang Ping, who also denied the Uyghur genocide and has promoted CCP propaganda in the past.

Huang traveled up and down the East Coast visiting business leaders, lawmakers, media companies and universities before leaving his post last year shortly after being named dozens of times in a criminal indictment against Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's now-former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun.

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Huang, who was the consul general of China's New York Consulate between 2018 and 2024, and repeatedly called the CCP a "great party," was listed as "PRC Official-1" in the indictment and has repeatedly met with Hochul, who is referred to as "Politician- 2" in the 64-page indictment against Sun.

"The Chinese Communist Party's malign influence in the United States is pervasive and perverse," Sobolik told Fox News Digital last year.

"The CCP, through 'united front' actors, uses American voices to advance its own hostile agenda. Governments at every level, from local and state to federal, must root out Beijing's ongoing efforts to exploit our openness and freedom."

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer's office and the Chinese consulate in New York for comment.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.