US edition of Sing Tao told to register as foreign agent

The US edition of Hong Kong Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily has been told to register as foreign agents as required by the US Department of Justice.  On Monday, filings received by the US Department of Justice showed that Sing Tao US has registered as a foreign agent. On the website of Sing Tao US edition, the company confirmed that five subsidiaries in the US were required to register as "foreign agents", adding that there are misleading reports or libel over this incident, and will take legal actions in response to it. 

Meanwhile, it is reported that according to its FARA filings, more than half of Sing Tao's US content was purchased from Chinese company Star Production (Shenzhen). Sing Tao News Corporation's foreign presence includes a number of cities, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and London. 

The US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities. The US Department of Justice explained that an agent of a foreign principal is any person who acts as an agent, representative, employee, or servant, or otherwise acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a “foreign principal” and does a number of activities.

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