New Dutch party in European election has close ties with China: report

NL Plan, a Dutch party participating in the European Parliament elections for the first time on Thursday, has much closer ties to China than its campaign spearheads of social housing and poverty reduction would suggest. Research by RTL Nieuws and Follow the Money showed that NL Plan is funded by organizations that support the Chinese Communist Party, and representatives of the party express strong pro-China views, but only in Chinese-language media.

According to the investigative journalists, NL Plan has strong ties with individuals and organizations that form part of an international influence network of the Chinese Communist Party, known as the United Front. The Dutch party received 42,000 euros in donations, a significant portion of which came from organizations in the United Front network that are committed to Beijing’s political goals and the suppression of dissident voices.

The list of donors includes the Chinese Council for Peaceful National Reunification in the Netherlands. That is worrying, according to Andrew Chubb, a China researcher at Lancaster University. The organization has branches in many countries and is subordinate to the Chinese parent organization, which is run directly by the Communist Party. He described it as a “political authority relationship.”

The donors list also includes prominent pro-Beijing clubs like the National Federation for Chinese Organizations in the Netherlands (LFCON) and the Dutch-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Chinese-language newspapers in the Netherlands, like the United Times and China Times, also donated to NL Plan.

That funding is also visible in the party’s positions. While there is no mention of China in the Dutch campaign videos, China is a big theme in communication with Chinese-Dutch, RTL reported. An article by United Times even called it the party’s spearhead. “Firstly, the Dutch NL Plan opposes the oppression of China by the EU/US and Western countries,” the newspaper wrote. And: “The Dutch political party NL Plan is the only political party that (...) speaks ‘honest words’ for China.”

Prominent NL Plan member Dong Lili also expressed an unadulterated pro-China position during a trip to Belgium to commemorate the first communists in Europe. “It doesn’t matter whether you are inside or outside China, we should all put our energy into making our motherland stronger,” she said. Dong also heads the National Federation for Chinese Youth Associations.

The Chinese government is known for its attempts to influence Chinese communities living abroad. Last month, Amnesty International warned that Chinese authorities were intimidating, surveilling, and harassing students from China and Hong Kong who study abroad, including in the Netherlands. The Dutch intelligence service AIVD also warned that the Chinese government was using organizations and foundations to monitor, influence, and intimidate Dutch-Chinese people.

NL Plan leader Kok Keun Chan and the party would not respond to RTL’s questions about its funding or pro-China stances. Chan only said that he was “surprised” by the questions and didn’t have time to respond. “Unfortunately, we are currently fully booked due to the campaign period.” According to RTL Nieuws, it gave the party and Chan several weeks to respond.