China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification
The China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR) is an umbrella organization, founded in 1988, by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to promote unification between mainland China and Taiwan on terms defined solely by the People's Republic of China. Unification is couched in a one country, two systems framework, though critics categorize it as annexation. According to scholar Anne-Marie Brady, in addition to promoting unification, "the organization also engages in a range of activities which support Chinese foreign policy goals , including block-voting and fund-raising for ethnic Chinese political candidates who agree to support their organization's agenda." The main council oversees over 200 chapters in multiple countries. The group holds an annual Overseas Chinese World Conference for Promoting Peaceful Reunification of China. This event has been held in multiple countries and is coordinated by local councils and other front organizations linked to the United Front Work Department. The council is chaired by Yu Zhengsheng and its vice-chair is Sun Chunlan. In the United States, a national-level council is registered as a non-profit called the National  Association for China's Peaceful Unification (NACPU) and is not registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In 2019, Li "Cindy" Yang, a vice-president of the organization's Florida-based council, was arrested and convicted after attempting to gain entry to Mar-a-Lago. In a speech in May 2020, Li Keqiang dropped the word "peaceful" when referring to "reunification" with Taiwan. Reaction. Scholars and observers have noted that the council and its events are part of the political influence agenda of the Chinese Communist Party and that Taiwan has never previously been under the control of the CCP . In 2019, it was reported that the Australia-based branch, the Australia Council for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification (ACPPRC), was not registered as a foreign agent even though it acts to influence Australian politics. The ACPPRC was previously headed by Huang Xiangmo who was subsequently banned from entering Australia due to national security concerns. In September 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the State Department had begun reviewing the activities of the CCPPNR in the U.S. In October 2020, the State Department designated the NACPU a foreign mission of the People's Republic of China. China Council