Controversy Widens Over Candidate's Possible CCP Links

A controversy has erupted over the candidacy of Zhang Jingjing, better known by her anglicized name of JJ Clemence, in the Fort Bend County, Texas race for county clerk. Republican activists and Chinese ex-pats in the area have sounded the alarm over Clemence and her suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This has thrown the Republican primary election for county clerk into chaos just days before the March 3 election. (Early voting starts tomorrow, Feb. 17.) New revelations have raised heightened concerns. Clemence has fought back not by denying the claims, instead retreating into identity politics.

Restoration News previously reported Clemence's ties to Chinese Community Centers, themselves a direct extension of the United Front Work Department (UFWD). The UFWD is a CCP project to influence the Chinese diaspora in the nations in which they have settled, using them to influence public policy and promote pro-CCP propaganda. Since that article appeared, several other facts have come to light, thanks in part to members of the Chinese community in the greater Houston area who strongly oppose the oppressive nature of the CCP.

Why is Republican JJ Clemence tight with Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green and China-born state Rep. Gene Wu—the radical Democrat who led the 2025 walkout to deny quorum on a Republican redistricting bill?

Did Clemence take an illegal campaign donation?

How deeply did Clemence involve herself with an illegal "sister city" arrangement with a foreign adversary?

The mounting questions have drawn ever more scrutiny for JJ Clemence, who has responded by saying the people who attack her have attacked "everyone with a Chinese face." Noteworthy in its absence: Any denial by Clemence of working with the CCP.

Palling Around with Democratic Sympathizers to the CCP

It seems odd that a Republican who has held several volunteer and paid positions for right-leaning campaigns and organizations would count the most radical of Democrats among her friends.

Born in China, Gene Wu, the Democratic minority leader in the Texas legislature, doesn't seem to like America very much. That's the inescapable conclusion one draws from his 2024 podcast appearance with Jose Antonio Vargas, in which he said:

The day the Latino, African American, Asian and other communities realize that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning, because we are the majority in this country now. We have the ability to take over this country and to do what is needed for everyone and to make things fair.

Texas Rep Gene Wu who was born in China, says White people are oppressors and non Whites are the majority now so they should take over this country pic.twitter.com/5bzEdHDVtV

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 8, 2026

In an interview meant to clarify his remarks, Wu said, "It is undeniable that Republicans have spent the past 50 years beating down communities," thereby absolving some whites from his racially charged diatribe.

Wu has extensive ties to the CCP—and Clemence ranked higher in the seating chart than him at the China Day banquet held by Consul General Li. The Houston consulate that President Trump shut down in 2020 for spying had a history stretching back more than a decade of praising and honoring Rep. Wu. (The article at this link is quite an eye-opener.)

Consul General Li even honored Rep. Wu, among many others, for attending a military parade in Beijing.

pic.twitter.com/2yAPraUU1E

— AG (@kubage1) February 9, 2026

Radical democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston might be worse. Remember, he heckled President Trump so badly during the 2025 joint address to Congress that Speaker Johnson had him ejected.

A reminder of Democrats disgraceful behavior last time @POTUS addressed Congress 👇@SpeakerJohnson: "Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman… https://t.co/60afCIZfpm pic.twitter.com/Awj1HgwzOA

— Edgar A Barrios (@Edgar_A_Barrios) February 11, 2026

Figure 1: JJ Clemence honored, along with Rep. Al Green (D-TX) and state Rep. Gene Wu at the annual Henan Township Association dinner.

Figure 2: JJ Clemence receives an award from Southern News Media Group in 2024, presented by Rep. Al Green (D-TX)

Figure 2 above shows JJ Clemence receiving an award from Southern News Media Group in 2024 for Outstanding Community Service, presented by Rep. Green. These annual awards honor Asians in the Houston area who actively fulfill their community responsibilities and have a good social image. The Southern News Media Group is responsible for the Southern Chinese Daily News, along with ten other Chinese newspapers in various American cities that promote pro-CCP messages and policies. It was founded in 1979—the same year the Houston Chinese Consulate opened.

Questionable Campaign Donation

Restoration News previously reported that JJ Clemence served as a board member, a member, or through participating on behalf of U.S. elected officials in organizations that report up to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), including the Anhui Association of Texas (also known as the Texas Anhui Hometown Association or TAHA),  the Texas Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, and the Bengbu City Returned Overseas Chinese Federation.

Additionally, a post on the TAHA website, now deleted, discusses a political donation made to JJ Clemence for her 2020 Fort Bend County Tax Assessor campaign on behalf of the organization. TAHA is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, specifically prohibited from making political donations or engaging in political activity. It seems odd that Clemence, whose profession involves fiscal audits and financial compliance, would accept such a donation.

Figure 3: Image captured from an archived version of the TAHA website.

Was That Sister-City Trip Illegal Under Texas Law?

Activists have sounded the alarm over Clemence's role in facilitating sister-city or sister-community visits between Nanjing and Fort Bend County. These arrangements could run afoul of a recently passed Texas law that bans sister-city agreements with foreign adversaries, which obviously include China. Signed into law by Gov. Abbott (R) in June 2025, House Bill 128 states:

It is the policy of this state to encourage sister-city agreements between  governmental entities and countries that are allies of the United States, including countries designated as major non-NATO allies under federal law and the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, and communities located in those countries.

It then goes on to explicitly ban such agreements with foreign adversaries, requiring withdrawal from existing agreements by Oct. 1, 2025.

In December 2025, after the deadline to withdraw, JJ Clemence acted as a translator for a delegation from Nanjing, Sichuan Province, the city Fort Bend County entered into an agreement with in 2016. Fort Bend County has yet to formally withdraw from the sister city agreement, and in December invited a delegation of teachers, economists, and dignitaries to, in the words of Bill Rickert, Fort Bend County Treasurer, "build on this meaningful partnership." Rickert thanked Clemence publicly for "making it happen."

Rickert and other county officials have made oblique references to the agreement being "obsolete," but the county has not only not formally withdrawn, it has continued to host "cultural exchanges" with Nanjing. Those "cultural exchanges" certainly fall under the purview of the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

JJ Clemence Responds

In a statement released in January, Clemence responded to the controversy about the December delegation meeting, saying, "I have never been a member of the CCP, nor am I an instrument of the Chinese government. No sister-city agreement was established, maintained or renewed."

Restoration News previously reported that Clemence uses the CCP-controlled app WeChat to communicate to her Chinese-language campaign supporters in the Houston area. Her statement on WeChat struck a slightly different tone than the English-language statement she released to the press. On WeChat, she said:

Due to the overall environment, because I am the frontrunner in the election, and due to US-China relations, some extremists oppose anything related to China. Unfortunately, my opponent, because she comes from the former socialist country of Yugoslavia, is using some low-level tactics to attack me, claiming I am a communist, attacking my supporters with Chinese features, and even attacking our children participating in activities in the US, claiming that children participating in American activities should be screened to see if they were born in the US and are American citizens.

The road ahead will be difficult, but I want to ask everyone to believe that there are moderate Republicans within the Republican Party, moderate Republicans with true Christian faith and values, especially those who believe in the ideals of Lincoln and Reagan. They are compassionate and empathetic, and they are actively supporting me and the Chinese community this time. Believe in us Chinese, believe in our compatriots!

We must have our own representatives to have a voice in mainstream society! My opponents and their extremist partners are not only attacking me; I am merely the spokesperson speaking out on behalf of others. They are attacking all of us with Chinese and Asian faces! Therefore, we must vote, we cannot remain silent, we must stand up and fight for our rights. Only by uniting and resisting this phenomenon together can we succeed.

Clemence's denial of the sister city arrangement appears in error, as Fort Bend County never formally rescinded its agreement—and the event in December may well have violated the terms of the new law. Her opponent, Tamara MacFarlane, has framed herself as a no compromise, America First conservative, so one wonders at the attempt to paint her as a socialist. Notably, Clemence's responses do not directly take on the questions raised by concerned voters. Nobody has actually accused her of membership in the CCP. Resorting to accusations of xenophobia and anti-Chinese bias doesn't address the significant concerns raised by the fervent anti-communist Chinese people who have sounded the alarm—not just over the CCP takeover of the Democratic Party, but their infiltration of Republicans as well. So far, Clemence has done little to distinguish herself as a red state conservative dedicated to fighting for an America First agenda.

CCP Influence Operations Continue in the United States

A quick note on the extent to which the CCP has infiltrated and undermined Western culture and American politics. One almost expects the Democrats, like Al Green and Gene Wu, to be in bed with the Chinese, ever since Bill Clinton sold our military technology secrets to the Chinese government. These days, those ties are much more out in the open. The recent election of radical Islamist Zohran Mamdani, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), exposes another troubling pipeline to China. Newsweek reports the DSA has "cultivate[d] connections with CCP officials" and agreed to take pro-China positions. They call it "anti-imperialism," a phrase familiar to anyone who knows their Cold War history. The DSA has discussed taking trips to China to meet with CCP officials and set up "exchanges:"

“China wants to interface with the DSA,” one New York-based political activist told a meeting on October 8 last year of the China Working Group of the DSA’s International Committee, which helps set policy and advises leaders. “If we develop a killer two-week itinerary, hire locals and develop further connections with the CPC [Communist Party of China], then we’re golden,” says the person, whose name is redacted. 

The CCP certainly seems to recognize the DSA as a much more direct pathway to influencing public policy through elected officials—and more seem to get elected every election cycle in municipalities across America. Combined with the UFWD, the propaganda and influence war to undermine American social cohesion and unity continues to advance.

In the larger context of China's continued influence and propaganda operation in foreign countries, it seems prudent to continue to vet candidates at all levels to ensure their loyalties lie only with America and her Constitution, to the exclusion of our global adversaries.

JJ Clemence has yet to tamp down the significant questions raised by voters in the Fort Bend County area.

MORE FROM OUR GLOBAL ADVERSARIES:

EXCLUSIVE: "Conservative Influencer" Lindy Li’s Ties to the CCP Go Deeper than We Knew

ANALYSIS: Engineering Obedience: China’s AI Surveillance State Should Scare Freedom-Loving Americans 

DON'T MISS OUR PREVIOUS REPORT: Accusations of Chinese Communist Party Ties Roil County Clerk Race in Texas

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