Chinese Progressive Association (Boston)

The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA; formerly Chinatown People’s Progressive Association) is a Boston-based left-of-center organization that engages in community organizing and activism among Chinese-Americans in Massachusetts.

The organization has hosted events with consular officials of the Communist-ruled People’s Republic of China (PRC). ¹ The group has held or participated in multiple PRC-flag-raising events at Boston’s City Hall Plaza commemorating the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. ²³

Members of Chinese Progressive Association leadership⁴ have aligned with radical- and extremist-left movements through the journal Leftroots. ⁵⁶ Lydia Lowe, a cofounder of CPA and former executive director,⁷ co-wrote an article for Leftroots calling for revolution to a “fundamentally different society.” ⁶ Michael Liu, listed as an “elder” by CPA,⁴  and founding CPA member May Louie⁴ have also written for Leftroots. ⁶

Chinese Progressive Association is associated with the Chinese Progressive Political Action group, which endorsed left-wing Democrats like John Barros for Mayor, ⁸ Ed Flynn for City Council, ⁹ and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). ¹⁰

Activism

The Chinese Progressive Association supported a tax to create affordable housing and organized residents to oppose Airbnb’s use of homes in Chinatown as it was reducing available housing for residents. It is working towards renewable energy in Chinatown. ¹¹ The association is fighting for Chinese-American renters by educating them on tenant’s rights, including those standards from the United Nations including the “Right to Adequate Housing.” ¹²

It co-sponsored a protest conducted by the radical-left and communist-aligned group Leftroots against the inauguration of President Donald Trump for his purported white supremacist viewpoints. ¹³

The organization has hosted events with consular officials of the Communist-ruled People’s Republic of China (PRC). ¹ The group has held or participated in multiple PRC-flag-raising events at Boston’s City Hall Plaza commemorating the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. ²³

CPA succeeded in gaining approval for bilingual ballots in Chinese and Vietnamese for all federal, state and local elections. ¹⁴

Labor Union Activism

Community Labor United (CLU)

The Chinese Progressive Association joined other Boston-based groups to form Community Labor United in 2004. Community Labor United assists the labor movement by extending its influence to the promotion of good schools and affordable worker housing. The CLU formed the Green Justice Coalition to drive environmentalist-aligned jobs. ¹⁵

Labor Lawsuit

The Chinese Progressive Association won a lawsuit against Sunshine Travel for undermining employees’ efforts to form a union. ¹⁶

Workers Justice Award

The Chinese Progressive Association has given its Workers Justice Award to Indira Talwani. She was appointed by President Barack Obama as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. ¹⁷

Donors                                                               

The Chinese Progressive Association is supported by the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation, which donates to left-wing organizations in Massachusetts. ¹⁸

The Marguerite Casey Foundation supports CAP¹⁹ and other left-wing organizations. ²⁰

Radical-Left Associations

Lydia Lowe was the director of the Chinese Progressive Association for close to 30 years. ⁷ Lowe was a co-author of an Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) organizing manifesto for the Communist-aligned radical-left publication Leftroots titled “The Role of Asian American and Pacific Islander Movements: Race, Nationality Oppression and Revolutionary Strategy.” The manifesto calls for Asian Americans  to join with other communities of color to foster revolutionary change in the United States. ⁶ She also authored multiple pieces for the Asian American Movement Ezine (Azine), on-line publication which self-described as providing “Progressive, Radical, & Revolutionary Asian American Perspectives.” ²¹

Lowe was a member of two pro-communist China organizations, the League of Revolutionary Struggle that became the Unity Organizing Committee, and Wor Kuen. ²² She participated in the controversial raising of the flag of the Communist-ruled People’s Republic of China in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on multiple occasions and gave a speech commemorating the anniversary of the communist takeover. ²³

The paper celebrates its claim that Asian-Americans were early members of the United States Communist Party. It claims America’s history and economy is based upon theft and exploitation of people of color. The essay blames “racial capitalism,” for oppression and calls for the oppressed to fight for “socialist liberation.” ⁶

Michael Liu is an elder for the Chinese Progressive Association. ⁴ He is a member of LeftRoots and co-author of their radical-left blueprint, “We Believe That We Can Win.” May Louie is a founding member of the Chinese Progressive Association,⁴ and another co-author of “We Believe That We Can Win.” The work serves as an introduction for LeftRoots’ movement towards forming its “liberatory strategy.” ⁶

Leadership

Karen Chen is the executive director and claims that President Trump offers challenges for minorities, workers, and immigrants. She alleges that the United States needs to attain economic and racial justice, that housing, health care, and good jobs are rights. Chen believes that the privatization of transit and education negatively affect people of color and workers. ²⁴ She supports housing regulations to stabilize home rentals,²⁵ and believes the Asian community has been most impacted by COVID-19. ²⁶ Karen Chen sees an opportunity to leverage opposition to build a national pro-immigrant and human rights movement. ²⁷