Few New York City politicians have had a tighter bond with the Chinese American community than Mayor Eric Adams.

很少有纽约市的政治人物能像市长埃里克·亚当斯这样，与华裔社区建立如此紧密的联系。

This week, a new layer to the relationship emerged: red envelopes filled with cash.

本周，这段关系又出现了一个新层面：塞满现金的红包。

The news that an adviser to Mr. Adams, Winnie Greco, had attempted to pay a reporter from an online news outlet, The City, stood out as a bold departure from political norms. Ms. Greco had put a red envelope stuffed with cash inside a potato chip bag and slipped it to the reporter after a campaign event.

有报道称，亚当斯的顾问郑祺蓉(Winnie Greco)曾试图向一家名为The City的网络新闻媒体的记者塞现金，这是一种严重背离政治规范的行为。在一场竞选活动后，郑祺蓉将一个装有现金的红包藏在一袋薯片中，悄悄递给了那名记者。

But the episode was not an isolated incident in Chinese-language media circles.

但这一事件在中文媒体圈并非个案。

In July, New York Times reporters witnessed other Adams supporters handing out red envelopes with cash at three separate campaign events: one in Flushing, Queens; another in Manhattan’s Chinatown; and a third in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. At those events, Mr. Adams picked up support from leaders of influential Chinese community groups, including several with close ties to the Chinese government.

今年7月，时报记者在三个不同的竞选集会中目睹了其他亚当斯的支持者分发装有现金的红包：一个在皇后区法拉盛，另一个在曼哈顿华埠，第三个在布鲁克林的日落公园。在这些活动中，亚当斯获得了来自有影响力的华人社区团体领袖的支持，其中一些团体与中国政府关系密切。

Ms. Greco, a top Adams fund-raiser whose homes were raided last year by federal investigators looking for evidence of Chinese interference in the 2021 mayor’s race, was present at all three of the rallies.

郑祺蓉是亚当斯的主要筹款人之一，其住所去年曾被联邦调查人员突击搜查，目的是寻找中国干预2021年市长选举的证据。她在那三场集会中都现身了。

The Adams campaign said it was unaware of any payments to reporters and had not approved them.

亚当斯的竞选团队表示，他们并不知晓有给记者塞钱的情况，也未曾批准过此类行为。

“Mayor Adams had absolutely no knowledge of this and does not condone it,” Todd Shapiro, his spokesman, said. “He has never — and would never — authorize anyone to hand out cash or gifts to reporters. Any such behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable.”

“亚当斯市长对此事完全不知情，也不予认同，”他的发言人托德·沙皮罗表示。“他从未——也绝不会——授权任何人向记者发放现金或礼物。任何此类行为都是不恰当且不可接受的。”

At the event in Flushing on July 13, dozens of Chinese American leaders gathered outside a public library branch to offer their support for Mr. Adams, giving him a needed boost as he trailed badly in polls. Mr. Adams, a registered Democrat who took office in 2022, is running a long-shot bid for re-election as an independent in November as his mayoralty has been tarnished by federal investigations and scandals.

在7月13日的法拉盛活动上，数十位华裔社区领袖聚集在一家公共图书馆分馆外，表达对亚当斯的支持。在民调中大幅落后的情况下，这为他带来了急需的助力。亚当斯是注册民主党人，2022年上任市长，目前正以无党派身份参选，谋求在11月连任。然而，由于联邦调查和一系列丑闻，他的市长任期已受到严重影响。

纽约市市长埃里克·亚当斯于7月出席了在皇后区法拉盛举行的一场竞选集会，与他同台的有繁荣华埠总会总监田士锐。

The event, organized by four influential community leaders, buzzed with dozens of fervent backers, proudly wearing shirts adorned with Mr. Adams’s face and energetically waving U.S. flags as they chanted and called for his re-election.

这场活动由四位有影响力的社区领袖组织，现场气氛热烈，数十名热情的支持者身穿印有亚当斯头像的T恤，挥舞着美国国旗，高呼口号，为他的连任助威。

One of the organizers, Steven Tin, the director of Better Chinatown USA, which hosts the Lunar New Year parades in Manhattan’s Chinatown, was seen by The Times holding $50 bills and handing out red envelopes to reporters from Chinese-language news organizations.

时报记者看到，组织者之一、负责曼哈顿华埠农历新年游行的繁荣华埠总会总监田士锐手持50美元钞票，向中文媒体的记者分发红包。

At the event, Mr. Tin said that it is a common practice in Chinese culture to give cash to “reporters, YouTubers, photographers” as a “thank you for coming” gift.

在活动中，田士锐表示，在中国文化中，向“记者、YouTube博主、摄影师”赠送现金作为“感谢到来”的礼物是一种常见做法。

Reached by phone on Thursday, Mr. Tin said that the payments to reporters were small and were made not to ensure coverage, but rather as a “courtesy.” He said he would ask the Adams campaign to cover the cost of water and banners for the event, but that he had not yet discussed whether it would reimburse him for the cash payments.

周四通过电话联系时，田士锐表示，赠给记者的钱款数额较小，目的不是为了得到报道，而是一种“礼节”。他说，他会请求亚当斯竞选团队承担活动中饮用水和横幅的费用，但尚未就是否报销他支付的现金进行讨论。

Mr. Shapiro, the Adams campaign spokesman, ruled that out.

亚当斯竞选团队发言人沙皮罗对此予以否认。

“We do not provide it, we do not direct it and we do not authorize anyone to distribute it,” Mr. Shapiro said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false and misleading.”

“我们不提供、不指示也不授权任何人分发现金，”沙皮罗说。“任何相反的说法都是错误且具有误导性的。”

Five days after the event in Queens, Chinese American community leaders held a rally at Confucius Plaza in Chinatown in Manhattan, where Times reporters again witnessed red envelopes being distributed. Then, on July 27, Times reporters saw more envelopes being passed out at the Sunset Park rally.

皇后区活动五天后，华裔社区领袖在曼哈顿华埠的孔子广场举行集会，时报记者再次目睹分发红包的行为。随后，在7月27日的日落公园集会上，时报记者又看到更多红包被发放。

Robin Mui, the chief executive of the Sing Tao U.S. newspaper, was among the organizers of the Manhattan rally. Mr. Mui made at least one trip, in 2014, to China with Mr. Adams and Ms. Greco.

《星岛日报》总裁梅建国是曼哈顿集会的组织者之一。他曾至少一次与亚当斯和郑祺蓉一同前往中国，是在2014年。

Mr. Mui, who also heads a local Chinese journalists’ group, told The Times that reporters received red envelopes from Adams supporters at last month’s events as a “form of appreciation” to cover transportation expenses and to “subsidize” their salaries. Mr. Tin “had to” give the reporters cash, he said; “otherwise they don’t write their stories.”

梅建国同时也是当地华人记者团体的负责人，他告诉时报，上个月的活动中，亚当斯的支持者向记者发放红包是作为一种“感谢”，用来支付他们的交通费和“补贴”薪水。他还表示，田士锐“不得不给记者们现金”，否则“他们就不会写报道”。

Sing Tao News Corporation, the parent company of the newspaper Mr. Mui runs, publishes a pro-Beijing newspaper from Hong Kong. In 2021, Mr. Mui registered Sing Tao U.S. with the U.S. Justice Department as a foreign agent acting on behalf of the parent company.

梅建国执掌的报纸的母公司星岛新闻集团在香港出版一份亲北京报纸。2021年，梅建国在美国司法部注册了《星岛日报》，作为代表母公司行动的外国代理人。

One reporter for a Chinese-language publication who attended one of Mr. Adams’s events said that the practice of receiving cash is common among Chinese-language journalists in New York, with amounts in the envelopes ranging from $20 to $300. The reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said that groups holding press events, including businesses and community associations, want reporters to attend and write positive articles.

一位参加过亚当斯活动的中文媒体记者表示，在纽约华文记者中，收取现金的做法很普遍，红包金额从20美元到300美元不等。该记者因担心遭到报复，要求匿名，他说，举办新闻发布会的团体，包括企业和社区协会，都希望记者出席并撰写正面报道。

In China, it is common for domestic reporters to receive red envelopes with cash, which are often referred to as a “transportation fee.” But companies there know not to give money to international reporters. No established American news organization permits its reporters to accept cash payments for covering events. The Times’s ethical guidelines explicitly prohibit receipt of such gifts.

在中国，国内记者收取装有现金的红包是常见现象，这些红包通常被称为“车马费”。但那里的公司都知道不能给外国记者发钱。美国任何正规新闻机构都不允许记者接受现金报酬来报道活动。《纽约时报》的伦理准则明确禁止接受此类礼物。

After Wednesday’s episode involving Ms. Greco and the reporter at The City, the outlet promptly reported it to the city’s Department of Investigation. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, where Ms. Greco has been under investigation regarding ties to China, seized the cash, the red envelope and the potato chip bag in which it was stashed, according to the publication.

在周三发生郑祺蓉与The City记者的事件后，该媒体当即向市调查局举报。据该媒体报道，负责调查郑祺蓉与中国关系的布鲁克林联邦检察官随后查获了现金、红包以及装现金的薯片袋。

The Adams campaign immediately suspended Ms. Greco, who had been working as a volunteer. Her lawyer said she was embarrassed and that her intent had been “purely innocent.”

亚当斯竞选团队随即暂停了郑祺蓉的工作，她此前是以志愿者身份参与的。郑祺蓉的律师表示，她对此感到羞愧，并且“绝无不良的”企图。