The Justice Department has forced a U.S. subsidiary of a major Chinese-owned newspaper to register as a foreign agent, according to records obtained by Axios.
Sing Tao Daily disputes its status as a foreign agent, but according to filings this week under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the DOJ determined the newspaper's U.S. operations qualified as foreign influence efforts, Axios reported.
"The Department of Justice's FARA Unit has concluded that [its U.S. activity] constitutes political activity for purposes of the FARA," Sing Tao wrote.
The Sing Tao Daily is Hong Kong’s oldest and second-largest Chinese-language newspaper. It is owned by Sing Tao News Corporation and has 16 overseas editions. Its current and former owner were both members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a select group of the Chinese Communist Party’s loyal friends and allies.
According to Sing Tao, the Hong Kong-based media company is privately owned and not controlled or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
But the Chinese government undoubtedly has influence over domestic media coverage and coverage in its territories. In Hong Kong, pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison after being found guilty of unauthorized assembly. Reporters Without Borders ranks China near last in the world in its World Press Freedom Index, just above North Korea.
Sing Tao's U.S. operations consist of newspapers in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a radio station based in Burlingame, Calif. More than half of its U.S. content is purchased from a Chinese company called Star Production (Shenzhen) Limited, according to its FARA filings.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.