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NEW YORK CITY — A group financed by a pro-Chinese Communist Party tech tycoon was one of the first on the scene for Friday's May Day demonstrations and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s remarks.
The People’s Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which both receive direct or indirect funding from Shanghai-based Neville Roy Singham, were key players in the organization of protestors in Union Square ahead of the May Day events.
A self-identified speaker from PSL announced a People’s Forum spokesperson who was the second to speak into a microphone. The speaker rallied the crowd of demonstrators, asking them to repeat chants and later bashed capitalism. Shortly before remarks, PSL arrived with dozens of pre-made anti-Trump signs and equipment, unloading them from a van parked next to Union Sq. Park.
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A Fox News Digital investigation found that the nonprofit received $22.4 million from Singham.
Communism was a recurring theme at May Day in New York, with the Revolutionary Communists of America, the Revolutionary Communist Party and signs for the Communist Workers of America held by several demonstrators.
Pro-communism advocates were canvassing the crowd, hawking communist newspapers and encouraging participation in upcoming organization events.
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"The existing capitalist-imperialist system and institutions of government in this country must be abolished and dismantled – and replaced by a new, socialist system based on the constitution for the new socialist republic of America," one paper read.
Fox News Digital interviewed one of the members of the Revolutionary Communists of America, who went only by Tom, who said that capitalism "is in crisis in the U.S."
"The small farmer has been killed off by capitalism," Tom told Fox. "The small businessman has been killed off capitalism. Big corporations dominate the society. So America is very proletarianized. And therefore, the working classes has more of a, let's say, the class balance of forces. It's more on the side of the working class now than it ever has been."
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Teamsters and unions gathered downtown at Washington Square Park while TPF and PSL marched from Union Square several blocks up. The union workers’ rally ended shortly after the Singham-connected groups arrived.
May Day is historically focused on advocacy for pro-workers, but once New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani began speaking, a significant number of teamsters and union employees had already left as calls for their cheers were dull, and the presence of other organizations dominated the crowd.
Mamdani stood in front of billboards labeled "NO ICE, NO WAR" and "NO BILLIONAIRES," and pushed his commitment to taxing the rich, and noted "faster buses" instead of his usual commitment to making bus transportation in the city free.
The crowd cheered loudly for Mamdani, whose appearance was not publicized and seemingly not expected from many of the demonstrators.
"That is why we continue to fight for those who power this city as we look to deliver universal child care," Mamdani told the crowd. "Faster buses, cheaper groceries, protecting our neighbors from the cruelty of ice. And yes, working to tax the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations in New York City."
Crowds dispersed following Mamdani’s brief address, but some roads remained closed as demonstrators continued the march, and one ambulance with flashing lights was forced to turn around earlier in the day on the march from Union Square to Washington Square.
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