Threats and Cash: How China Meddles in U.S. Local Elections

A curious news story emerged in New York last week. It involved the mayor’s race, a reporter from the news outlet The City and a bag of chips.

Michael Forsythe, a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times, explains how the episode fits into a larger story about how China has been attempting to influence American politics.

Guest: Michael Forsythe, a reporter on the investigations team at The New York Times.

Background reading:

• In the past few years, community organizations have quietly foiled the careers of politicians who opposed China’s authoritarian government.
• Times reporters witnessed supporters of the New York mayor, Eric Adams, handing out cash-filled envelopes. Sometimes, that money went to reporters from Chinese-language outlets.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: Shuran Huang for The New York Times

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.