On February 9th, California politician Arcadia firefighters posed to take a much-checked photo with the fledgling foundation at a wildfire relief event.
The $510,000 gift from the Taiwan-based International Chamber of Commerce would benefit some 54 firefighters from Arcadia, a city near Altadena that doesn’t spare the Eton Fire.
But the Arcadia Fire Department Foundation, where councillor David Who is a board member and former city councillor Shaw Tay counts as president, was not registered with the state, and is not permitted to accept donations, according to a filing to the California Attorney General’s Office, which regulates charities.
The foundation’s website was closed in February a few days after The Times asked about his position with the Attorney General’s Office.
“We are working with the foundation to lead them to compliance,” a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.
After more than a month, the foundation is not yet registered. Arcadia officials say they have not received the money.
A fair amount of checks – tailored to a small, unregistered charity overseen by local politicians – touched the city’s nerves of the clock due to signs of foreign influence. In December, Arcadia found herself at the heart of a spy scandal after federal prosecutors charged City Councilman Irene Wang’s campaign manager with conspiring with the Chinese government to elect her.
“The funds raised by nonprofits, where government representatives from foreign companies sit, are always questionable and do not even doubt the specific use or projects to fund them.”
FU did not respond to multiple requests for comments.
However, in the same NextDoor post, Fu said the funds will be “used to support our brave firefighters and further protection of our cities.”
“I can’t get credit. I am not Taiwan, I am not speaking Chinese, and I did nothing to receive this incredibly generous gift,” he wrote.
Tay, who founded the Arcadia Fire Department Foundation a few years ago, said the lack of documents was probably a confusion by his accountants.
Announcing its $510,000 donation to the foundation, the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a global organization connecting Taiwanese business communities around the world. The group did not respond to requests for comment.
At the February 9th wildfire relief event (equivalent to the consulate) at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, the Arcadia Fire Station Foundation received the check along with the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, as Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties.
Taiwan is an autonomous democracy that China claims to be its own territory. The two governments compete for power internationally, China persuades all but 11 countries, and the holy man will not acknowledge Taiwan.
Arcadia, with an Asian American population of nearly 60%, is home to many Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants. Federal prosecutors said the Chinese government scouted for Arcadia’s upcoming stars and wanted to cultivate politicians who could help them push pro-China policies, particularly with regard to Taiwan.
Arcadia Fire Chief Chen Su-wen said the foundation told him $360,000 of the world Chamber of Commerce donations would be sent to the training center’s fire station. The rest said they would go to another charity related to the Arcadia Firefighters Union to be used for cancer screening of firefighters.
Other charity, the Arcadia Firefighters Foundation, is in “delinquent status” with the state attorney general’s office and is also prohibited from accepting donations due to the lapse of registration, according to publicly available submissions.
Arcadia’s vice mayor Justin Bruno said the city would not accept money from the Arcadia Fire Department Foundation until the documents are sorted out. She said the foundation will decide how to spend money from Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry around the world.
“We ask a lot of questions about it,” Bruno said. “The foundation has really gotten generous donations and donations, which is great for the foundation, but at this point there are no plans to spend these dollars.”
She added that she does not believe that city counsels will create conflicts of interest for the FU as they are not financially profitable from the gifts to the foundation. In small cities, politically active residents often found themselves wearing both hats, he said. Mayor Michael Kao, for example, is on the board of directors of the Arcadia Police Foundation, according to the city’s website.
In late January, officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Bureau visited the Arcadia Fire Station. Authorities wanted to know how the World Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry would use the money it plans to donate.
Suen, an American in Taiwan, said he was trying to build a training center for the U.S. Forest Service to improve emergency response times such as active shooters and bombing. U.S. Rep. Judy Chew (D. Monterry Park) was trying to win $2 million through federal grants, but the city thought the center would cost $4 million, he said.
Suen said he didn’t know how the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry around the world found the fire station, but he was grateful for his support.
“Alcadia was not widely affected in terms of losing a home, but we had 66% of our 36-48-hour division on staff, taking care of the East End,” he said.
Previously, the largest donation made by the Arcadia Fire Department Foundation was $20,000. This voted to accept Arcadia City Council last year to fund a fire station training project.
Tay, a former city council member, said he wanted to see what Arcadia would be able to use after hearing about the planned donations of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Bureau to the LA Fire Department Foundation.
Tay said he was connected to the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry around the world in January.
“We have a large Taiwanese population. Our chief is from Taiwan and I am from Taiwan, so maybe you can help,” he said.
According to North American branch chief Arthur Chen, the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce around the world is not a government agency, but it raises funds for gifts to the Arcadia Fire Department Foundation through its networks in Asia, Europe and America.
Amino Chi, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, made a statement in a statement that Taiwan and the Arcadia Fire Station share “long-standing connections,” saying that sometimes Taiwan sends firefighters to the city for training.
After Palisade and Eaton fired, Chie’s office contacted Los Angeles city officials, suggesting that Los Angeles city officials make a donation to the LA Fire Department Foundation or the Red Cross.
It is common for foreign countries to donate to rescue operations with goodwill shows and soft power subtle flex shows. They are not allowed to donate directly to US government agencies, so they usually give to charities.
Among the countries donated to wildfire relief efforts were Japan, which gave the Red Cross $2 million, and South Korea, which gave the California Community Foundation $1 million.
Tay said that money from the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s world is a gift.
“Some people are beginning to get political, [saying]”Oh, this is government money.” No, this is from the Chamber of Commerce,” he said.
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