John Chan (born 1954)

Chan was born in Langqi Island, Fujian, China in 1954. In 1974, he moved to Hong Kong with his family to escape the Cultural Revolution. While in Hong Kong, he joined a gang. In 2015, he organized the Coalition of Asian Americans for Civil Rights (CAACR). In July 2001, he was charged and convicted with smuggling Chinese nationals inside shipping containers at ports in Washington. Chan got his sentence reduced after giving information about triad boss Frank Ma. Pleading guilty to racketeering, human smuggling, trafficking heroin and operating illegal gambling parlors, Chan was sentenced to time served and released in 2008 after assisting prosecutors for more than five years from prison. ==Political activism==

Chan has been a prominent fundraiser within the local overseas Chinese community for Eric Adams, Grace Meng, and other politicians. and stating, "Overseas Chinese should stay closely united like pomegranate seeds and build the Chinese dream together, as President Xi said." During the COVID-19 pandemic, an organization that Chan led helped send 1 million masks to China in the beginning of 2020 after obtaining approval from the Chinese consulate in New York. In the 2022 New York State Senate election, Chan supported a primary challenger to Democratic New York State Senator Yuh-Line Niou, who had taken in part in events with Taiwanese officials. He also supported Republican candidate Lester Chang, who defeated Democratic incumbent Peter J. Abbate Jr. who had held the seat since 1987. After New York State Senator Iwen Chu attended a banquet with Tsai, Chan supported her opponent Steve Chan in the 2024 New York State Senate election, contributing to Chu's loss. Chan also supported an opponent of Senator Ron Kim, who was unsuccessful. In March 2024, Chan was one of the 20 Chinese diaspora representatives to attend the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing. Chan was reportedly interviewed by the FBI shortly prior to traveling to China. == See also ==