Cheryl Yu
On October 1, Swedish reporters working as part of an international consortium of journalists broke the news of a leaked list identifying 233 individuals across Europe connected to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) united front system, shedding light on the extent of the Party’s influence abroad (tv4.se, October 1). Tony Fang, a professor at Stockholm University who is affiliated with multiple united front agencies, was featured in the report (tv4.se, October 1). However, Fang and the 17 individuals based in Sweden named in the list are just a few of the Swedish individuals and organizations that are linked to the united front system. The scope of the Party’s united front network in Sweden extends far beyond the education sector. It is present across all areas in society, including culture, business, politics, and media. Further research by the Jamestown Foundation that traces CCP activities and organizations has now uncovered at least 103 united front groups in Sweden—only some of which were identified in the leaked list.
United front work (统战工作) is a key tool the Party uses to achieve its goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation (中华民族伟大复兴) and become a global power by building relationships with individuals and their affiliated organizations it considers useful. As the Chinese Communist Party Regulation on United Front Work states, “The united front … is an important magic weapon for … realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” (Xinhua, January 5, 2021). CCP chairman Xi Jinping stated at the Central United Front Work Conference in 2015 that the united front “is about human relations, and the purpose of promoting the united front is to strengthen the forces for common struggle” (People’s Daily, May 21, 2015). Engaging with the united front system must be understood in the Party’s terms as an explicitly political activity rather than as ordinary civil society or private sector activities in a democratic society.
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