The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, or uncommonly referred to as Chinagate, was an effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself. While questions regarding the U.S. Democratic Party's fundraising activities first arose over a Los Angeles Times article published on September 21, 1996, China's role in the affair first gained public attention when Bob Woodward and Brian Duffy of The Washington Post published a story stating that a United States Department of Justice investigation into the fundraising activities had uncovered evidence that agents of China sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign. The journalists wrote that intelligence information had shown the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. was used for coordinating contributions to the DNC in violation of United States law forbidding non-American citizens or non-permanent residents from giving monetary donations to United States politicians and political parties. A Republican investigator of the controversy stated that the Chinese plan targeted both presidential and congressional United States elections, while Democratic senators said the evidence showed the Chinese targeted only congressional elections. The government of the People's Republic of China denied all accusations. Background According to the U.S. Senate report, Chinese officials eventually developed a set of proposals to promote their interests with the United States government and to improve China's image with the American people. The proposals, dubbed the "China Plan", were prompted by the United States Congress's successful lobbying of President Bill Clinton to grant a visa to Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher had previously assured his Chinese counterpart Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen that granting a visa would be "inconsistent with [the United States'] unofficial relationship [with Taiwan]" and the Clinton Administration's acquiescence to the Congressional resolutions led China to conclude that the influence of Congress over foreign policy was more significant than it had previously determined. When formulating the so-called plan, Chinese officials acknowledged that, compared to other countries, it had little knowledge of, or influence over, policy decisions made in Congress, which had a sizeable pro-Taiwan faction under the influence of a more established "China Lobby" run by the Kuomintang. The plan, according to the Senate report, instructed Chinese officials in the U.S. to improve their knowledge about members