Since its
formation and particularly after the fall of the Soviet Union, the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used United Front Work (UFW) to
infiltrate nations, states, and other political entities throughout
the Free World in order to guarantee its own continued existence.
Its UFW has resulted in California mutating into Chinafornia. Can it
ever become California again?
In Goethe’s Faust,
the Lord tells Mephistopheles that his servant Faust serves the Lord
and, if not clear now, it will become clear. He allows
Mephistopheles to make a pact with his servant Faust: if
Mephistopheles can provide him with one moment in which Faust can
say he would like to stay in that moment forever, then
Mephistopheles can take his soul.
Faust
agrees to the pact:
If ever
to the moment I should say,
Oh, stay, thou art so fair
Clasp me into fetters then and there
Then to destruction I would gladly go
Then may the death bells toll
Then from your service you are freed at last
The clock may stop
The hands may fall
My time will be forever past.
As we
view the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), we see that it is using
corruption, duplicity, and false promises to tempt mankind with a
Mephistophelian dilemma: should we keep our conscience, dignity, and
values? Should we keep our religious beliefs and all that the divine
has shown us, or should we make a pact with the CCP, accept it’s
offer, and forgo everything else?
I. The
Communist Party’s United Front Work – How Mephistopheles Tempts
Mankind
A. The
CCP’s “Magic Weapon”
Man’s
understanding of right and wrong, of good and evil, and of the
existence of an afterlife directly affects his participation in the
human world. In the Free World, man can decide what to believe based
on input readily available to him. While all major governments
interact with other governments openly and respectfully, the Chinese
communist regime deploys techniques that may be either legitimate or
covert, but often lack virtue.
Three
interrelated factors, however, make the Communist government’s
approach unique. “First is the nature of the Chinese state” which
Chinascope has explored in depth. {1} The “second is its holistic
approach which melds together the legal and the covert, persuasion,
inducement, enticement, and coercion; third is the aim of such
operations which is not just to direct behavior but to condition
behavior. In other words, China does not just want you to comply
with its wishes. Far more fundamentally, it wants you to think in
such a way that you will of your own volition do what it wants
without being told.” {2}
On June
27, 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
reported on how China’s own laws affect how businesses and
individuals must interact overseas, “First, China’s cyber security
preferences are impacted by its own National Intelligence Laws.
These national laws require that: ‘All organizations and citizens
shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and
collaborate in national intelligence work, and guard the secrecy of
national intelligence work they are aware of. The state will protect
individuals and organizations that support, cooperate with, and
collaborate in national intelligence work.’” {3}
The work
that Chinese individuals and businesses do overseas to support China
is called United Front Work. It is one of the three magic weapons
that Mao Zedong called for in winning the civil war in 1949. The
United Front Work Department directs such work. According to the
Jamestown Foundation, “The United Front Work Department
(中共中央统一战线工作部) is the department of the CCP charged with
consolidating support for Party policies among non-CCP members,
including among individuals of Chinese descent overseas. It has long
been a key, albeit well concealed, element of the CCP’s foreign
policy.” {4}
In other
words, the CCP assumes that the primary loyalty of Chinese overseas
is to participate in democratic elections, be candidates, donors,
and voters in order to advance China’s national interests abroad and
to take the initiative to do so wholeheartedly and of their own free
will. They should help achieve the political objectives of the
“China Dream of National Rejuvenation” in relation to the South
China Sea, Taiwan, and the Belt and Road Initiative. Such
interference goes beyond electoral politics; it includes donations
in return for favors such as, for example, gaining the appointment
of someone who is pro-Beijing. Plausible deniability is assured
because such acts are considered state secrets, the betrayal of
which is an offence punishable by lengthy jail sentences or possibly
execution in China. {5}
The
United Front Work is so important to the communist party that
Beijing even offers a Master’s Degree in United Front studies. {6}
B.
Methods the CCP Uses
Many of
the methods the CCP uses are detailed in a report that Macrobusiness
recently published. Following are some of the more salient
methodologies.
-
Mobilization
of the ethnic Chinese diaspora
-
Tasking of
ethnic Chinese students in foreign countries to suppress
anti-Beijing views
-
Sponsorship of
pro-regime “educational” institutions in universities to foster
pro-Chinese worldviews
-
Substantial
financial and other assistance to key individuals and
institutions that are prepared to support China’s interests
-
Leveraging
trade and investment dependencies to coerce partners
-
Recruitment of
business leaders who have strong economic interests in China
-
Seek to apply
Chinese law within the United States and other countries
-
Penetration of
Western research and other institutions to access cutting-edge
technologies
-
Espionage
operations against Western and partner countries
-
Geo-strategic
maneuvers to extend Beijing’s influence over new areas
-
Extensive use
of para-military and military forces to persuade, intimidate,
and confront foreign forces in selected areas and forcibly to
seize, occupy, and militarize strategically important locations.
{7}
Louisa
Lim an award-winning journalist who has reported from China for a
decade and Dr. Gerry Groot of the University of Adelaide, who
specializes in the United Front Work Department (UFWD), provide
further information in “Inside China’s secretive United Front” {8}
“United
Front Work is the responsibility of every Chinese Communist Party
member and especially every Chinese Communist Party member who has
an official position,” says Groot. “They are supposed to make
friends and influence those friends to take on the official
positions of the Communist Party.
“This
charm offensive is achieved by a variety of methods, including
cooperation, cooption, coercion and by making the price of
collaboration irresistible, thus slowly absorbing the party’s
enemies into its ranks. When it comes to entrepreneurs, the carrots
dangled include sought-after positions in government advisory bodies
like the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC),
which imply insider access, if not actual power. The success of this
strategy can be seen from a single statistic: the CPPCC now contains
59 US dollar billionaires, whose combined net worth is double the
GDP of Ireland.
“In
recent years, United Front Work has turned its focus outward,
harnessing Chinese living overseas – particularly businessmen,
community leaders and students – to project communist party
influence abroad. One tried-and-tested formula is the use of
community associations, either setting up new bodies or usurping
existing ones to serve party ends.” {9}
How can
they be used?
Regardless of the number of these CCP-supporting members or
organizations, it can be a propaganda tool to be quoted in the
language of the country’s media or in Chinese, creating the
impression of support from the organization or the Chinese in that
country, bolstering Party legitimacy.
It can
press for policy changes regarding China through submissions to
committees or by lobbying. Since it is a community association, it
can deny any connection to China.
It can be
the base from which the CCP extends its tentacles to other targeted
individuals, groups, or organizations.
For
Beijing’s own government organization or a United Front body, it
often uses a popular sounding name to disguise its true nature.
According to Gerry Groot, in Australia, “Lots of foreigners in
particular think they’re dealing with a government-related entity or
a civil society entity, when they’re dealing with a very complex
entity which is controlled, directed, administered, and surveyed
constantly by the Communist Party United Front Work Department.”
{10}
Asia Dialogue also
reports on the methods of the UFWD: “Liberal democracies are
increasingly aware of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to exert
influence internationally, but what does this mean in practice? …
The CCP exerts an astonishing amount of control over the lives of
those born and raised in China. In the wake of unprecedented
economic development it is now facing the challenge of large-scale
migration of increasingly affluent Chinese citizens, who through
overseas study or work have acquired a home away from home. Of the
many ways in which the Party has adapted, the growing strength of
the United Front Work Department is of particular interest to those
measuring CCP influence abroad. …” {11}
II.
Chinafornia
The CCP’s
United Front Work mobilizes the Chinese diaspora as well as
businesses, government officials, and private organizations around
the world. From Taiwan to Australia, from Africa to Europe, from
Canada to South America and from San Francisco to New York, it
extends its tentacles both visibly and behind the scenes. We will
focus on Chinafornia as an example of the methods used to infiltrate
and transform the Free World.
According
to the 2010 census, the Chinese American population in the United
States numbered approximately 3.8 million.
The
states with the largest estimated Chinese American populations were
California (1,253,100; 3.4 percent and New York (577,000; 3.0
percent).
San
Francisco, California has the highest per capita concentration of
Chinese Americans of any major city in the United States, at an
estimated 21.4 percent, or 172,181 people, and contains the
second-largest total number of Chinese Americans of any U.S. city.
New York City has the largest number of Chinese Americans at
486,463, but only 6 percent of the total population.
The 2016
Community Survey of the U.S. Census estimates a population of
Chinese Americans of one or more races to be 5,081,682. Americans of
Chinese descent, including those with partial Chinese ancestry
constitute 1.5 percent of the total U.S. population as of 2017.
Of the
ten cities with the largest Chinese American populations, five are
in California. {12}
It would
be natural for Chinese Americans to want to develop their political
influence and have a say in the future of their city, their state,
and their country, but with China’s United Front “magic weapon” at
work, things are not that simple.
The CCP
Politburo member and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi
made a speech this year, calling for the government to expand and
strengthen “overseas Chinese patriotic friendly forces” in the
service of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and “ensure
they identify their interests with China’s interest.” {13}
The
further requirement that “All organizations and citizens shall, in
accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in
national intelligence work, and guard the secrecy of national
intelligence work they are aware of” adds an ineluctable imperative
to support the CCP. {14}
Let us
look at how the CCP has bloomed in its relationship with California,
achieved greater cooperation, and established good connections with
officials and politicians in California via its magic weapon, the
UFWD.
A.
Increasing Connections with California Officials
The Disobedient
Media reported
that several officials in California seemed to have close ties to
Beijing. {15}
“As
China’s economy has grown over the past several decades, so too have
donations and support for political figures in California.” Ed Mah
Lee, a member of the Democratic Party, was San Francisco’s 43rd
mayor and has “a history of financial support from Chinese
interests, as well as the open endorsement of public figures in the
city with established ties to the Communist Party of China (CCP). …
Lee also enjoyed long-time support from the recently-deceased San
Francisco figure Rose Pak. Pak served as an executive director of
the China Overseas Exchange Association, a foreign affairs group
under the direction of China’s state Council Overseas Chinese
Affairs Office. … San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly directly
accused Pak of improperly acting as an agent of the Chinese
government. … On September 28, 2016, a video posted to Twitter by
China Daily (0:20-0:24) shows Lee placing his right hand over his
heart during China’s national anthem.
“Lee is
not the only Bay Area politician with a connection to China.
Disobedient Media has reported that the mayors of Oakland and
Berkeley have ties to groups and individuals who have been the
subject of FBI investigations for their ties to the CCP.”
“The Los
Angeles Business Journal has
highlighted a dramatic increase of Chinese investment in the film
industry as well as LA real estate. China is Los Angeles’ largest
trading partner, with $164.38 billion in trade to the city in 2013.
This increase in investment is welcomed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who
has endeavored to court Chinese businesses since his election in
2013. In 2014 and 2016, Garcetti led trade delegations from the
United States to China. … Garcetti also met with Wang Jianlin,
chairman of Dalian Wanda Group. Disobedient Media has previously
reported on Jianlin’s drive to buy up Hollywood media groups …”
“China
has also begun to exert increasing influence over Californian
Chinese organized crime groups, using Hong Kong based Triads who are
allied with Beijing’s government. … On February 27th, 2006, Chinese
American Allen Leung was murdered by a masked assailant in San
Francisco.” Leung was the head of an organization that was
“traditionally supportive of Taiwan’s Kuomintang government.”
California’s pivot towards China is concerning given the increasing
amounts from Chinese financial involvement with California
politicians. Similarly, the shift in Californian Chinese organized
crime from groups aligned with Taiwan to Triad organizations
operating with the blessing of the Chinese government creates doubts
about Beijing’s plans for the West Coast. With California
increasingly taking steps to act autonomously of the Federal
government, it is likely that China’s true intentions will become
apparent in due time. {16}
On April
9, 2013, “Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. met with China’s Minister of
Commerce Gao Hucheng and signed a landmark agreement with the
Ministry of Commerce to bolster economic ties and cooperation
between California and China. ‘While California seems relatively
small compared to the vastness of China, the innovation, the
creativity of Silicon Valley, our medical advances, the internet and
various other technologies make California, I believe, a very valued
partner for China,’ said Governor Brown. They signed a Memorandum of
Understanding. … The agreement, the first-of-its-kind between a
subnational entity and the Ministry of Commerce, establishes a joint
working group that includes California, the Ministry of Commerce and
leaders from six provinces.”
As the
United States learned later, the MOU, which is detailed in the
article, did indeed make California “a very valued partner for
China.” {17}
On May 3, 2018, Xinhua
News Agency,
China’s official press, reported: “U.S. Governor of California Jerry
Brown called for more cooperation with China on Thursday, saying
that the two countries have great potential as trade partners. … The
governor said that China and the United States should work together
to promote the global economy despite rising tensions due to the
trade dispute between the two countries recently. … “‘A trade war is
stupid,’ (Brown) added.” {18}
B.
Possible Targets of United Front Work
An
example of China’s United Front Work’s enticement was recently
reported on August 8, 2018, in an article in the Federalist titled,
“Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Ties To China Go Way Deeper Than An Alleged
Office Spy: Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s warm relationship with and
advocacy for Communist China go back decades and involve millions,
if not billions of dollars.”
Some key
points from this article are cited below {19}:
-
“Chinese
intelligence once recruited a staff member at a California
office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and the source reported
back to China about local politics.”
-
“Feinstein …
employed this individual for almost 20 years in a close
capacity, while he represented the senator in interactions with
Chinese officials.”
-
Shortly after
the U.S. opened U.S.-Chinese diplomatic relations in 1979.
“Feinstein led a mayoral delegation to China joined by her
husband, investor Richard Blum, a trip they took together many
times over the ensuing years as the relationship between both
Feinsteins and China grew.”
-
“In 1986,
Feinstein and Jiang (Zemin, General Secretary of the Communist
Party of China from 1989 to 2002) designated several corporate
entities for fostering commercial relations, one named Shanghai
Pacific Partners. Feinstein’s husband served as a director. …
Subsequently Blum’s investments in the Middle Kingdom
mushroomed.”
-
“In May 1993,
Feinstein expressed her strong support on the Senate floor for
continued trading with China. Contemporaneously, her husband was
seeking to raise up to $150 million from investors, including
himself, for a variety of Chinese enterprises.”
-
“In May 1996,
she penned an editorial in the Los Angeles Times calling for the
United States to grant most-favored-nation trading status to
China ‘on a permanent basis.’”
-
“In May 2000,
Feinstein lobbied for making permanent normal trading relations
with China, a measure that ultimately passed, and helped pave
the way for its entrance into the World Trade Organization,
which Feinstein also supported.”
-
“Feinstein’s
economic positions frequently downplayed the PRC’s rampant human
rights violations. The senator … often urging appeasement of the
Chinese regime in both apologism for such abuses and urging
restraint.”
-
“Feinstein
also argued against tying China’s most-favored-nation trading
status to human rights improvements.”
-
“Feinstein
also challenged the Obama administration’s $6.4 billion arms
sale to Taiwan, calling it a ‘substantial irritant’ to
U.S.-China relations.”
The
article went on to suggest that Feinstein’s dealings with China
should be investigated.
Daniel
Turner, Executive Director of Power The Future, asked: “Is it not
worthy of the media’s time to question who drafts her policy
statement: staffers concerned for her constituents in California or
Beijing?”
He also
raised questions about Feinstein’s husband’s business: “One could be
suspicious of the $25 billion deal the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation struck with the senator’s husband’s real estate company
during the housing crash of 2009. It raises an eyebrow that as chair
of the Military Appropriations Subcommittee, Feinstein approved
millions in contracts benefiting her husband’s firm. One may
question how Blum acquired a lucrative $108 million contract to sell
post offices in California.” {20}
According to Politico,
Rose Pak, who died in September 2016, and who was mentioned
previously, is another person of interest. For decades she was “one
of San Francisco’s preeminent political power brokers. Though she
never held elective office, she was famous for making and unmaking
mayors, city councilmen (or ‘supervisors,’ as they’re known in San
Francisco), and pushing city contracts to her allies and
constituents in Chinatown.” “According to four former intelligence
officials, there were widespread concerns that Pak had been coopted
by Chinese intelligence, and was wielding influence over San
Francisco politics in ways purposefully beneficial to the Chinese
Government. Another worry, U.S. officials said, was Pak’s role in
organizing numerous junkets to China, sometimes led by Pak in person
and attended (often multiple times) by many prominent Bay area
politicians including former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who died
while in office in 2017.” {21}
A show of
power by the CCP was the 2008 Olympic Torch Run in San Francisco.
The torch relay around the world met protests for the CCP’s
suppression of democracy and human rights “San Francisco was the
only U.S. city to host the Olympic torch as it made its way,
tortuously, to Beijing. … Most brazenly, said former intelligence
agents, Chinese officials bussed in 6,000-8,000 J-Visa holding
students – threatening them with the loss of Chinese government
funding – from across California to disrupt Falun Gong, Tibetan,
Uighur and pro-democracy protesters. … ‘I’m not sure they would have
pulled out these stops in any other city, but San Francisco is
special’ to China, said a former senior U.S. official.” {22}
Let us
look in depth at some events in the current decade to see how the
CCP has been using its power to turn California into Chinafornia.
C. The
Year 2000 – The City of Santee
In the
year 2000, current California Assemblyman Randy Voepel was elected
Mayor of the City of Santee and sworn in on December 5, 2000. Santee
was asked to issue a proclamation on behalf of Falun Gong and Voepel
agreed to the request. The CCP heard about it. On December 27, Lan
Lijun, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China wrote a
letter to Voepel to discuss “a matter which is of great importance
and grave concern to the Chinese Government and its relations with
the United States.”
The
letter went on to describe the “illegal” activities of Falun Gong:
“advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking
people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social
stability, thus being deemed an illegal cult organization.” “Many …
appeared to be disorganized: some became paranoid,” “suffering from
hallucinations,” “jumped into rivers or off buildings,” “even
cruelly injured or killed their relatives and friends.” “I am
sending you some materials which I hope will help you know more
about this Falun Gong cult organization.”
As
opposed to believing Lan Lijun, Mayor Voepel wrote a two-page letter
in reply: “Your letter personally chilled me to my bones. I was
shocked that a Communist Nation would go to this amount of trouble
to suppress what is routinely accepted in this country. What you
consider to be of great threat to the People’s Republic of China is
a political ‘walk in the park’ in the United States. I … must be
honest in my concern for the suppression of human rights by your
government as evidenced by your request. … P.S. I will have a
favorable Mayor’s proclamation for the Falun Gong out as soon as
possible.” {23}
Shortly
thereafter, Doug Curley of KUSI-TV news reported, tongue in cheek,
about the city of Santee getting ready to defend itself from an
attack by the People’s Liberation Army. {24}
D. 2016-
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce Says “No” to Divine Land Marching
Band
On April
17, 2016 The Divine Land Marching Band, which consists of a number
of Falun Gong practitioners, was to participate in the Northern
California Cherry Blossom Festival Grand Parade (MCCBFGP), sponsored
by Sakura Matsuri, Inc.
On the
day of the parade, when everyone was lined up and ready to start the
parade, Mr. Richard Hashimoto, the President of the event sponsor,
picked up a megaphone and yelled at the band through the megaphone,
saying the band was not allowed to participate in the parade.
“Mr.
Hashimoto admitted to one of the members of the marching band that
the Chinese Chamber of Commerce told him that Falun Gong is a
‘troublemaker’ and that is why his organization refused to allow
Falun Gong to participate in the events that led to the case
mentioned below.” {25}
On April
11, 2017, a band member filed a case with the San Francisco Human
Rights Commission (SFHRC), alleging discrimination: Case Name: Rui
Wang v. Sakura Matsuri Inc. (Docket Number: FY17-12C-030).
Chinascope sent
a letter of inquiry to the SFHRC asking about the status of the
case. As of the date of this publication, October 16, 2018, more
than one and one-half years later, the SFHRC has not responded to
the band members or to Chinascope.
E. June
10, 2017 – Report: Communists OK’ed to Work for the California
Government
Andrea
Seastrand, a former Republican member of the United States House of
Representatives, wrote an article about California Assembly Bill 22,
which allowed communists to work in the state government. According
to her article, Assembly Bill 22 “actually received enough votes
from Democratic legislators to pass. It shows how out of touch and
liberal California’s Legislature has become.” Disobedient Media also
reported on the legislation: “In May 2017, a bill sponsored by
Assemblyman Rob Bonta sought to remove a Cold War era ban on state
employees who were members of the Communist Party.” {26}
By that
time Randy Voepel was an Assemblyman. He had served two tours in
Vietnam with the Navy during the war. Seastrand quoted him in her
article.
“There
are 1.9 million veterans in California, many of us fought the
communists,” said Voepel, “They are still a threat. We have North
Korea that wants to do us in. We have China who is a great, great
threat to the United States. They are communist regimes. In China
the Falun Gong have been rounded up and put in prisons. There are
giant labor camps where there is organ harvesting. There are bullets
that are charged off to the families of those executed. You get a
bill for 20 yuan to pay for the bullet that killed one of your
family members. We have great communist threats in the world.
“And I’m
not speaking from bitterness because I’m a Vietnam veteran. I came
to peace with that years ago. In fact, Vietnam’s a pretty neat
place. But just last week we had many Vietnamese people here who
were kicked out of their country. They came here for the freedom.
So, Assembly members, I ask for a no vote on this issue. The whole
concept of opening up communism and Communist Party members to
working for the state of California is against everything we stand
for on this floor.”
Assemblyman Travis Allen, from Huntington Beach, also objected:
“You take
a look at the number of people that communism has killed in the 20th
century alone, it’s over 90 million. Communism stands for everything
that the United States stands against. We’re for freedom, we are for
justice, we’re for democracy, we are for the rule of law. And
communism is none of these things. To allow subversives and avowed
communists to now work for the state of California is a direct
insult to the people of California who paid for that government.”
Seastrand
reported that, after receiving complaints, Assemblyman Rob Bonta,
who introduced the bill, withdrew it. Her final comment in the
article was, “It was a wrong idea. Thankfully, the bill is dead. We
can only hope and pray that someday we can say the same about
communism.” {27}
F. June
17, 2017 – The Dalai Lama Delivered a Commencement Address at the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
As a
well-known China reporter John Pomphret wrote, “(O)ut of the almost
1 million foreign students attending U.S. universities this fall
(2017), almost one in three will be Chinese. This marks a fivefold
increase over the 2004–2005 academic year, when there were 62,523
Chinese students stateside.” At first Academics were imbued with the
same viewpoint that inspired the contents of James Mann’s well-known
book, the China Fantasy. A true win-win relationship would develop.
According to one quote, “it would guarantee America’s ‘intellectual
and spiritual domination of {China’s} leaders.” Over time, however,
American schools became enamored with Chinese cash. September
enrollment at the University of Illinois broke 3,000 {for example}.
It is now known as the University of China at Illinois. As an aside,
reports indicate that President Trump’s aids, “led by
anti-immigration crusader Stephen Miller are reportedly pushing for
a blanket ban,” although there is no indication of how seriously the
president took the advice. Many schools across the country rely
heavily on money from China.
Pomphret
pointed out that this wave of Chinese applicants across the country
triggered a “tsunami of fraud,” since agents are paid a bounty for
each student they bring in. “The result? In this year’s entering
class, there will be thousands of Chinese students who lack the
education, the language ability, and the critical facilities
necessary to benefit from an American education. That’s because many
of them were given a slot at a U.S. university almost solely based
on their parents’ ability to pay.” “These students end up hanging
out with their compatriots, never making an American friend, and
returning home with no appreciation of American civil society, its
freedoms of association, speech, and religion, or its democracy. In
fact, many I have spoken with can be openly hostile to Western
values.” {28}
In
addition, the Communist government itself closely scrutinizes the
behavior of Chinese students wherever they are in the world. The
Chinese Students and Scholars Association’s (CSSA’s) political work
“runs directly counter to the ideals of a Western education and
represents a worrying trend of China attempting to export its system
of thought control onto America’s shores. Chinese not prepared for
an American education naturally gravitate toward the CSSA. ‘It
offers us a place to go when we’re homesick.’ ‘That makes it easier
for them to ‘wash our brains.’” {29}
Party
cells have even been set up as part of a strategy “to extend direct
party control globally and to insulate students and scholars abroad
from the influence of ‘harmful ideology,’ sometimes by asking
members to report on each other’s behaviors and beliefs.” “‘You
still know that if you actively protest against [the party], of if
you make some kinds of comments, you know that they could harm you
later on.’ … ‘It’s a way of controlling what you are willing to
do.’” {30}
In 2007,
in a specific demonstration of power, when a CSSA organization at
Columbia protested against a human rights speaker, a threatening
email was sent to the Columbia group’s website, stating, “Anyone who
offends China will be executed no matter how far away they are,”
{31}
How did
this affect the Dalai Lama’s invitation to speak at UCSD where 14
percent of the students are from China?
UCSD
announced on February 2, 2017, that the Dalai Lama would appear at
the UCSD commencement ceremony, following a public address delivered
on campus on Friday, June 16 to an estimated audience of 25,000.
Even
though these Chinese students came to the U.S. to study and had
access to information that was no longer censored as it was in
China, they still spent much of their time reading the Chinese
social media that the CCP actually controls. In their views, the
Dalai Lama was not someone who promotes peace and world harmony;
rather, he was someone who wants to split China and was part of
China’s feudal past, as the CCP had long been telling them.
While
these students lacked the capacity to appreciate the values of the
free world, they did not hesitate to use the freedom of expression
that the U.S. Constitution affords to express and promulgate the
communist party’s viewpoint.
Just
hours after the announcement, the CSSA at UCSD announced that it had
communicated with the Chinese Consulate about it. The students
announced on WeChat in Chinese: “Currently, the various actions
undertaken by the university have contravened the spirit of respect,
tolerance, equality, and earnestness – the ethos upon which the
university is built. These actions have also dampened the academic
enthusiasm of Chinese students and scholars. If the university
insists on acting unilaterally and inviting the Dalai Lama to give a
speech at the graduation ceremony, our association vows to take
further measures to firmly resist the university’s unreasonable
behavior.” {32}
UCSD’s
Chinese Students and Scholars Association said in a statement after
the invitation to the Dalai Lama was announced, “The Dalai Lama is
not only a religious personality but also a political exile who has
long been carrying out actions to divide the motherland and to
destroy national unity.” {33}
Apparently in the minds of those students, respect means the Free
World should show a deep consideration for communism rather than
vice versa.
The
University defended the values of the Free World and didn’t yield
under the pressure. The Dalai Lama still spoke at UCSD.
On September 12, 2018, Inside
Higher Education discussed
a report that “describes alleged retaliation against the University
of California, San Diego, after it invited the Dalai Lama to give a
commencement speech in 2017. The report cites unnamed faculty
members who say they heard from their colleagues at Chinese partner
institutions that universities were ordered by a government entity –
believed to be the Ministry of Education – not to collaborate with
UCSD. Among other alleged retaliatory actions, a faculty member told
Lloyd-Damnjanovic that the ministry blocked funding of a joint
research center operated by the University of California’s 10
campuses and Fudan University. UCSD’s media relations office did not
comment on the report.” {34}
A September article in the UCSD student newspaper, The
Triton, announced,
“China will no longer fund travel for visiting scholars at UC San
Diego, according to a memo apparently written by government
officials that circulated among Chinese academics. The move,
according to UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy Professor
Victor Shih, is likely in retaliation against UCSD for inviting the
Dalai Lama to serve as the 2016–17 commencement speaker last
spring.”
“China
took such an action in 2010, eight months after the University of
Calgary conferred an honorary degree upon the Dalai Lama. The
university was removed from China’s list of accredited universities,
throwing many Chinese alumni and students’ post-graduation plans and
financial stability into jeopardy. The Canadian institution regained
its accreditation in April 2011.”
“‘The Chinese Communist Party has always used political, economic,
and diplomatic means to threaten free society,’ says Frank Tian Xie,
a professor of business at the University of South Carolina Aiken,
told The
Triton in
an interview conducted in Chinese. ‘This decision proved that all
its academic exchange programs and scholarships are a facade serving
a political purpose. If these programs are for academic purposes,
they shouldn’t be influenced by politics.’” {35}
Students
have actively espoused communist values in other areas as well. At
Durham University in the U.K., Chinese students notified the local
embassy about the appearance of Chinese-Canadian human rights
activist Anastasia Lin, who was Miss Canada and is also a Falun Gong
practitioner. The local Chinese embassy requested she be disinvited.
In
Australia, an article found that “there have been cases of Chinese
students reporting back to the Chinese Embassy on fellow students
that have not followed Beijing rhetoric.” {36}
In
another instance, CSSA students tore down posters about the
Tiananmen Square massacre. A directive that the Ministry of
Education had handed down in January emphasized the importance of
“patriotic education” in ensuring that all university students –
even those studying overseas – “always follow the party.” {37}
G. July
2017 – Chinatown Business Improvement District (BID) Executive
Director Used His Authority to Make Sure U.S. Citizens Could Not
Exercise their First Amendment Rights at a National Park
Nick
Janicki applied for a permit with the California State Parks
Department for a 501C3, the Foundation for Traditional Culture, to
perform a benefit concert at the Los Angeles State Historic Park in
Chinatown in Los Angeles. Larry Fulmer, of Special Events for the CA
State Park, Los Angeles Sector, informed him on January 17, 2017,
that the date of July 29, 2017, was “locked in.”
Sean
Woods, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Sector of California State
Parks, informed Mr. Jenicki that “a meeting with the Chinatown BID
is a mandatory step in our special event permitting process.” At the
State Park’s request, Janicki met with George Yu, president of the
Chinatown BID.
Janicki
agreed to a number of Yu’s requests. He took down the following
videos from the organization’s website, including those on Tibetan
freedom, slave labor, and environmental destruction. When Yu told
him emphatically that if Falun Gong had any presence at the event,
then “our conversation was over and we needed to take the event
elsewhere,” he drew the line.
Yu also
requested that artists performing at the event refrain from saying
anything that could be construed as negative towards the Chinese or
China.
On May
16, 2017, George Yu sent Janicki a letter saying, “Please be
advised that the Chinatown BID is unable to support the Festival.”
As the
result, the Park District pulled the permit. According Janicki,
“It’s very concerning that the Chinese BID can be given authority
over what United States citizens can or can’t do and what First
Amendment Rights they can exercise in a public place in a National
Park.” {38}
H. 2008 –
The First Time, a California Resolution on Human Rights Failed
In 2008,
San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly sponsored a resolution that
contained language condemning the Chinese government’s willful
campaign to oppress the people of Tibet.
“‘We’ve
been bullied. We’ve been butchered. I am 82 years old. Please help
us!’ The old woman wept bitterly and begged for mercy for the people
of her homeland. She is a Tibetan-American who had come to the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors with 200 others to support a simple
resolution calling for mercy for the people of Tibet.”
San
Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had appointed Carmen Chu as Supervisor
of District 4. In that capacity Chu, refused to support the
resolution and District 7 Supervisor Sean Elsbernd went along with
her. Daly’s resolution contained language condemning the Chinese
government’s willful campaign to oppress the people of Tibet.
“Around a hundred people spoke and only 3 of them opposed Daly’s
resolution. They were all men from the Chinese Consul. … they called
the peaceful Buddhist Tibetans ‘animals.’” The 2008 resolution
failed. {39}
I. July
2017 – For the Second Time, a California Resolution on Human Rights
Shelved after Communist Party Opposition (SJR10)
Courthouse News Service has
detailed coverage of the issue where the California State Senate
decided to shelve a bill criticizing China’s human rights
violations, because of the pressure from the Chinese Consulate. {40}
Because its contents are so relevant, we quote the main parts of the
article here:
“In July,
state Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Santee, introduced a resolution calling
on President Donald Trump and Congress to investigate the suspected
human rights abuses by the Chinese government against members of the
religious group Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. The measure
moved swiftly through the Senate Judiciary Committee with a
unanimous vote.
“Lawmakers then whittled down the initial resolution – five pages of
forceful rhetoric against the actions of China – to a single,
factual page. But just before the resolution was to be read on the
floor, Senate Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, moved the
measure to the Senate Rules Committee without a vote or discussion
and then shelved it.
“De
Leon’s decision may have been due to an unsigned letter sent by
China’s consulate general in San Francisco, calling Falun Gong an
‘evil cult.’ The letter was received the day before De Leon moved
the bill. Neither De Leon’s office nor the Chinese consulate
returned requests for comment.
“‘These
are not people that are strapping bombs on themselves and blowing
themselves up trying to kill others,’ Anderson said. ‘These are
people who are focused on meditation through their faith. They have
a harmless faith.’
“In 2007,
Anderson got a resolution passed recognizing Falun Gong and the
liberty of the United States to allow freedom of religious
expression. The Chinese consulate sent him a letter accusing him of
being a terrorist, and banned him from traveling to China.
“Falun
Gong is a spiritual practice that utilizes qigong, measured
movements and a focus on breathing and meditation to promote health
and wellness. Falun Gong differs from traditional qigong in that
there is no membership fee, no specified ritual and a greater
emphasis on morality.
“Congress
passed a resolution in 2016 with bipartisan support and drastically
more forceful language than Anderson’s recently shelved effort.
Minnesota lawmakers passed their own version this week.
“‘Here in
California, we talk about California values,’ Anderson said. ‘If we
can’t stand up for those who simply want to meditate and become
better people, if we can’t step up for religious liberty and
freedom, not just here but around the world, we have failed those
values.’
“Disturbing reports of torture and forced harvesting of organs have
led many nations to ban citizens from traveling to China for medical
procedures. China denies that any Falun Gong practitioners have been
killed and says those who have died did so because they refused to
take medicine or accept medical aid.
“The
United Nations and the World Health Organization both disagree and
have condemned the actions of the Chinese government.
“A report
authored by former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and
human rights lawyer David Matas found that ‘the source of 41,500
transplants for the six-year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained’ and
concluded that ‘the government of China and its agencies in numerous
parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention
centers and ‘people’s courts,’ since 1999 have put to death a large
but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.’ {41}
“Wait
times for organ transplants in China average about two weeks
compared to 32 weeks in Canada, despite its smaller voluntary organ
donor list.
“‘I think
the question has to be asked why does China have such a grip on your
throat that they can bully California Democrat leadership that says
that they are for the downtrodden, those being picked on around the
world, but when it comes to these people they aren’t willing to
stand up against their slaughter,’ Anderson said.
“‘We are
going to challenge them to see if they want to harvest our organs,’
Anderson said. ‘I am not standing down. There will be no peace until
there is justice.’”
Ending
In Faust,
Mephistopheles does not win. Faust remains loyal to the Lord,
without a single moment of hesitation, despite the temptations that
Mephistopheles offers him.
Today,
the battle for man’s soul is taking place in a different form. As we
can see from the events described herein Mephistopheles and the
communist party have been doing very well. Things have not gone so
well for the Free World or for mankind as a whole.
The
communist party has used many of the means described herein to
destroy our values and has successfully lured people to succumb to
its values. People seem to have forgotten the meaning of the
following words, but they warranted man’s thoughts when written and
they warrant our introspection today: (KJ version) Mark 8:36 “For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul?”
California is changing into Chinafornia. Can it become California
again?
We close
with a letter that reminds us who we once were.
Dr.
Shizhong Chen, the President of the Conscience Foundation wrote to
California State Assemblyman Randy Voepel on September 12, 2017:
Dear
Honorable Assemblyman Voepel,
My name
is Shizhong Chen and I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I am writing to
you to share with you how righteous officials like you may protect
their constituents in ways that we may not be aware of.
In 2001 I
appeared and spoke at the Santee City Council. Perhaps my statement
is still in the city’s record, but I quote it here for your
convenience:
“Dear
Mayor Voepel and Honorable Council members:
I come to
thank you for your proclamation for Falun Gong, a proclamation made
in spite of the Chinese government’s pressure; but more importantly,
I come to celebrate the American spirit.
In 1839,
the ship ‘Amistad’ carried itself fatefully to the United States and
touched off a historical legal battle that went up to the Supreme
Court. Risking their contemporary national interest, i.e. the
alliance with mighty Spain, Americans chose to defend a few
strangers. It was this part of the American history that led me to
embrace the true spirit of this nation. I began to understand
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the Civil War: A noble war fought
for a principle and for those who could not fend for themselves. I
also came to the enlightenment that it was the defense of the
principles on which America was founded that justified America’s own
long endurance. After the improper victories of naval battles of the
US vs. Spain and vs. Japan, the great American admirals all
wondered: ‘Are we good or are we lucky?’ I always say with tears in
my eyes: ‘Neither. You are blessed!!’
That is
how I take the American spirit to my heart; and in doing so, I have
wondered: What if ‘Amistad’ sailed from China today? Would America
today stand for its principle or its pocket? Today I know safely
that the same spirit and the same justice are intact at least in the
city of Santee.
Yet, this
is not just a Chinese issue. I have taught Falun Gong exercises to
over one hundred San Diegans, most of whom are Americans. It may
seem most inconceivable that over 200 hundred years after our
founding fathers had declared certain inalienable rights, that our
rights can come under the threat of a foreign government, yet that
threat has come. By standing for your own citizens, you have
fulfilled the promise of ‘government of the people, by the people,
for the people.’ I admire and congratulate you.”
In
response to my statement, you stated: “Your statement tells us why
we must do this, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said, ‘In the end,
we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our
friends.’”
Two years
later the Cedar Fire broke out. While evacuating to the safety of my
Falun Gong friends’ house, we watched attentively the expansion of
the wildfire. By the time the fire began to threaten Santee, we
heard from the news that firefighting resources had been so
stretched after almost a week of wildfires that there were no
firefighters or emergency personnel present in the area. On top of
that, the power was also out. Then past midnight we heard from the
news that the fire had forked in two directions, one to the west,
one to the south; it somehow went around Santee. At that moment, we
looked at each other said: “Santee should thank its mayor!”
In
introducing SJR-10 you have once again stood up for the
righteousness. This time I believe California will have you and
Senator Anderson to thank for the results.
Sincerely
yours,
Dr.
Shizhong Chen
|