New York Consular General Openly Rally behind Man Who Assaulted Falun Gong
in New York City
|
WASHINGTON DC (FDI)
— Attacks against Falun Gong on U.S. soil by agents of the Chinese Communist regime have caught
the attention of federal law makers.
On
Monday, the office of U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde — Chairman of the House
International Relations Committee — initiated a briefing on Capitol Hill
regarding a recent attack on Falun Gong practitioners in New York City by
agents of the Chinese regime.
The
briefing began with a 9-minute video documenting the June 23rd attack in New York as well as dozens
of related incidents across the United States where Falun Gong practitioners and U.S. officials who
support them were subjected to intimidation, harassment, threats and violence from Chinese
government officials or individuals working under their direction.
“He
rushed towards me and…punched me in my face while cursing,” New Yorker Mr. Jun Li told
Congressional staff members at the briefing about the assault in New York. “Then, someone kicked
me from behind and there were others who were beating my head. If this beating happened in China, it
would be from the lies and propaganda created by Jiang’s regime. However, this beating happened in
the U.S.”
Ms.
Janet Xiong, also of New York City, briefed staff members on a number of incidents of harassment,
death threats and other persecutory measures that have been carried out in recent years by
individuals linked to China’s New York consulate. “For the past four years, [former Chinese
leader] Jiang Zemin has used the consular services overseas and local pro-communist Chinese
associations to incite hatred against Falun Gong in all levels of society,” Ms. Xiong said.
“Even though I am living in America, I feel like I am living in the shadow of the Jiang regime’s
terrorism.”
The
briefing is the latest Congressional action to uncover and stamp out harassing and persecutory
tactics adopted by Chinese government agents in the U.S. against Falun Gong.
On
July 2002, the U.S. Congress unanimously (420-0) passed Concurrent Resolution 188, condemning the
persecution of Falun Gong and calling for further investigation into allegations of persecution in
the U.S.: “The US Government should investigate illegal activities by the Government of the
People’s Republic of China and its diplomats, concerning harassment of US citizens and residents who
practice Falun Gong and of US officials who support Falun Gong; and take legal action or resort to
deportation for those Chinese officials who have been found engaging in unlawful activities on US
soil.” (news)
Also
in July, 2002, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey proposed a second resolution, House Concurrent Resolution
447, against the illicit activity: “China’s leaders have already extended their campaign against
freedom to America,” said Congresswoman Woolsey during a rally in Washington DC for Falun Gong.
“We must stand up to this attempt to intimidate American officials on American soil.”
High-Level
Chinese Officials Rally behind Attackers in New York City
On
June 23, the leader of a Chinese association with close ties to the New York Chinese Consulate led a
group of men in an attack on Falun Gong practitioners who were holding banners and handing out
flyers outside a restaurant in Chinatown while high-level Chinese diplomats dined inside.
The
assailant was later arrested by local police and charged with assault.
In
the subsequent weeks, the Chinese Ambassador to the U.N., the New York Chinese Consular General and
Chinese government-backed organizations rallied behind the attackers authoring public letters and
statements in the Chinese language media backing their vow to “fight Falun Gong to the end.”
“This
kind of behavior is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the persecution of Falun
Gong is like in China where thousands are believed to have died from state-authorized torture and
abuse, and state-run media constantly demonizes the practice,” says Falun Dafa Information Center
spokeswoman Gail Rachlin. “But this is the United States of America…it’s unbelievable that a
Communist foreign power would think they could get away with this on U.S. soil.”
New
York state officials agree, and are showing increasing concern over the alleged illegal activities
by agents of the Chinese government.
“They’re
violating one of the basic precepts upon which this country was founded,” said New York State
Senator Frank Padavan about the June 23 attack during an interview with New Tang Dynasty Television.
“In addition, we have laws that deal with hate crimes…and obviously this crime was committed
against these people on the basis of their [belief]. So not only did they violate a basic precept of
our founding fathers, but they also violated state law.”
Also
in an interview with New Tang Dynasty Television, New York City councilman John Liu said,
“People should have the freedom to say whatever they like without fear of physical attack.”
Posting date: 25/July/2003
Original article date: 24/July/2003
Category: Media Reports
