Senate investigators say Beijing tried to channel money and access into the 1996 election

The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's final report says the People's Republic of China pursued a plan to influence the 1996 federal election cycle through donors, intermediaries, and access-seeking contacts around the Democratic Party. The report names Johnny Chung, Charlie Trie, Ng Lap Seng, Liu Chaoying, and Ji Shengde as central conduits and says the effort aimed to build leverage inside U.S. politics, not just buy one meeting. The finding put Congress on record that foreign money and intelligence-linked relationships can turn campaign fundraising into a national-security problem (Congress.gov report; Senate Intelligence special report; CBS reporting on Chung).