Philadelphia officials raised the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) flag over City Hall Sept. 30 in a ceremony marking the anniversary of the CCP’s founding, sparking criticism from Republicans who warned the move handed Beijing a propaganda win.
The event, organized by the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and sponsored by the Pennsylvania United Chinese Coalition, was defended by local officials as a cultural celebration tied to Philadelphia’s sister-city relationship with Tianjin, according to Newsweek.
If you were curious: Philadelphia—the same city where America declared its independence and the Constitution was written—is now flying the CCP’s Five-Star flag over City Hall. https://t.co/aKkMN71Pe1
— Select Committee on China (@committeeonccp) September 30, 2025
But ahead of the ceremony, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, urged Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, to cancel the event.
In a Sept. 24 letter to Parker, Moolenaar warned that raising the Five-Star Red Flag honored “a Communist Party-State that is diametrically opposed to American values and working to undermine our interests worldwide.”
He cited the CCP’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims, suppression of religious minorities, and role in fueling America’s fentanyl crisis.
“A flag raising is used to show respect for a nation that can inspire unity and pride between our two peoples,” Moolenaar wrote, “but it can also be inadvertently used to misrepresent support for another nation’s actions and values.”
The committee letter also warned Philadelphia leaders they were being “exploited as a tool for CCP propaganda.”
“To cancel the PRC flag-raising ceremony will not only demonstrate that the local government in the United States stands for U.S. values and national interests,” the letter stated, “but that it stands in support for the people of China who face the regime’s ruthless oppression and transnational repression.”
Several other critics echoed the concern. An op-ed by Victoria Coates and Rich Zeoli, published by FOX News, called the flag-raising “a disgrace” and accused city leaders of “defiling this sacred ground, this birthplace of liberty, by bending the knee to Beijing.”
The piece urged the city to instead unite “for a celebration of that timeless symbol of liberty: the American flag.”
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