A growing socialist activist network tied to organizations funded by a wealthy businessman living in China is quietly planting permanent organizing hubs across the United States — and critics say the effort looks far more coordinated than many Americans realize.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, commonly known as PSL, has opened or announced at least 28 physical activist spaces nationwide since 2021, according to a review of the group’s public posts and local reports.
Often branded as “Liberation Centers,” the locations function as local organizing hubs where activists host political workshops, recruit supporters, coordinate demonstrations, and build long-term infrastructure for left-wing organizing campaigns.
The expansion stretches from major progressive cities to smaller conservative communities across the country, including locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Washington, D.C., Oregon, and West Virginia.
Critics argue the strategy is highly intentional.
“These centers are often staffed by semi-local organizers who cut their teeth elsewhere, then parachute into new communities,” Manhattan Institute analyst Stu Smith told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Their model is simple: find a local grievance, radicalize it, and turn it into movement infrastructure.”
The Party for Socialism and Liberation openly promotes Marxist revolutionary politics and has repeatedly aligned itself with narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party.
The organization’s websites praise Mao Zedong for “liberating” China through communist revolution despite the tens of millions of deaths associated with Mao’s rule. PSL materials have also reportedly downplayed or denied the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in which Chinese authorities crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.
Those positions have fueled scrutiny over the organization’s financial and ideological ties.
Former tech executive Neville Singham — a multimillionaire now based in Shanghai — has reportedly funneled tens of millions of dollars into an interconnected network of activist organizations linked to PSL leadership and operations.
Investigations by both The New York Times and other outlets previously documented Singham’s connections to pro-China advocacy efforts and Chinese state-affiliated events.
Singham also reportedly advised Huawei, the controversial Chinese telecommunications giant that has faced extensive U.S. national-security concerns.
While there is no public evidence that the Chinese government directly controls PSL, critics argue the overlap between pro-CCP messaging and activist infrastructure inside the United States raises serious concerns.
The organization’s activities go far beyond theoretical politics.
PSL chapters regularly organize protests against U.S. immigration enforcement, policing, capitalism, military spending, and American foreign policy.
In one recent example, PSL’s Columbus, Ohio chapter used social media to encourage students and parents to organize school walkouts protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Other Liberation Centers advertise workshops focused on prison abolition, transgender activism, Marxism, and anti-police organizing.
The upcoming Washington, D.C., Liberation Center openly advocates slashing police budgets by 90 percent, implementing cashless bail systems, guaranteeing income programs, and expanding taxpayer-funded gender-transition treatments for minors.
Critics argue the movement specifically targets younger Americans through schools and activist pipelines disguised as broader social-justice organizing.
“They reach out to teenagers, encourage school disruptions and walkouts, and help create mini-PSL pipelines disguised as harmless student unions,” Smith warned.
The infrastructure strategy itself may be the most significant part of the story.
Rather than operating solely online or through temporary protest movements, PSL appears focused on building permanent local footholds capable of sustaining organizing efforts long-term.
Pennsylvania alone reportedly hosts seven separate PSL-linked centers.
The group’s rapid expansion mirrors a broader shift inside modern activist movements toward creating decentralized local hubs capable of mobilizing protests, political pressure campaigns, and ideological recruitment year-round.
Meanwhile, questions about funding remain difficult to answer because PSL itself is not legally required to publicly disclose all of its financial sources.
Some centers claim to operate primarily through crowdfunding and volunteers, though critics argue the sophistication and scale of the operation suggest significant outside backing.
For opponents, the concern is not simply about fringe socialism.
It is about the emergence of an increasingly professionalized activist ecosystem that blends ideological training, political agitation, youth recruitment, and anti-American rhetoric — while operating through networks financially connected to individuals aligned with Chinese Communist Party interests.
And judging by PSL’s own messaging, the organization views its growth as only the beginning.
“It’s not enough to be angry,” the group declared in a recent national post. “We must be organized.”
