A think tank chaired by the former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese organisation that has been accused of being a foreign interference tool of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Asia Matters, a think tank based in Dublin, signed an agreement with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), also known as Youxie, in May 2019 in a ceremony officiated by Simon Coveney, the foreign affairs minister.
The event, held in Cork, received coverage in Xinhua, the official Chinese government news agency, which quoted Coveney as saying he believed Ireland “can play an important role in terms of being a voice within the European Union to help understand the new China”.
CPAFFC is