Post by JoyinMudville on Sept 3, 2024 14:05:38 GMT -5
Fascinating article which I am gifting so you don't have to worry about the paywall.
wapo.st/4e8r4qd
How China extended its repression into an American city
Chinese diplomats and pro-China diaspora groups based in the United States organized demonstrations in San Francisco that harassed and silenced protesters opposed to Beijing’s policies, including through violence, during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the city in November, a six-month investigation by The Washington Post shows.
The events in San Francisco illustrate how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is willing to extend its intolerance of any dissent into the United States and target people exercising their First Amendment rights in an American city. It is part of a broader global pattern of China attempting to reach beyond its borders and suppress parts of its diaspora advocating against the CCP and ongoing rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and mainland China, the U.S. government and human rights groups say.
A number of diaspora group leaders have long-standing links to Beijing, according to Chinese state media, photos of high-level events and interviews, including with Chinese activists, former FBI officials and researchers. These include ties to the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Communist Party which uses non-state actors to further China’s political goals overseas, blurring the line between civilians and state officials.
The Post investigation found:
While there was aggression from both sides, the most extreme violence was instigated by pro-CCP activists and carried out by coordinated groups of young men embedded among them, verified videos show. Anti-Xi protesters were attacked with extended flagpoles and chemical spray, punched, kicked and had fistfuls of sand thrown in their faces.
The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles paid for supporters’ hotels and meals as an incentive to participate, according to messages shared in WeChat groups reviewed by The Post. At least 35 pro-CCP Chinese diaspora groups showed up to the APEC summit protests — including groups from New York, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
Videos show at least four Chinese diplomats from the consulates in Los Angeles and San Francisco among the crowd of pro-CCP protesters, sometimes directly interacting with aggressive actors over four days of protests from Nov. 14-17. Some Chinese diaspora group leaders with ties to the Chinese state participated in some of the violence, the videos show.
Chinese diplomats hired at least 60 private security guards to “protect” Chinese diaspora groups gathered to welcome Xi, according to seven people involved in the arrangement.
Acts of violence
Of the more than a dozen attacks against activists that The Post tallied over the four days that Xi was in San Francisco, among the most severe was an assault on Zhang Kaiyu, a 51-year old Chinese man, and his two friends, Chau Kaihung, 73, and Li Delong, 40, all immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong.
On Nov. 17, the three men were walking away from a protest site when they passed a group of nine young men, some wearing red scarves used to signify support for the CCP during Xi’s visit.
Flooding the zone
The arrival of pro-Beijing groups in San Francisco was orchestrated by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and state-linked community leaders. The result was a contingent of hundreds of people decked out in coordinated uniforms, hats, banners and flags distributed to participants by pro-Beijing diaspora groups.
The Post identified 32 Chinese diaspora leaders who helped organize these contingents, many with ties to the Chinese state, according to a review of Chinese state-linked media, official Chinese government websites and social media pages, diaspora leaders’ social media pages, as well as photos and videos.
Among them was Los Angeles-based business owner Lu Qiang, a co-founder or founder of several pro-CCP organizations. In an interview with the World Journal, one of the largest Chinese-language newspapers in the United States, Lu said he had organized 20 buses, booked 400 hotel rooms and coordinated 800 people arriving to welcome Xi at APEC.
Chinese diplomats and pro-China diaspora groups based in the United States organized demonstrations in San Francisco that harassed and silenced protesters opposed to Beijing’s policies, including through violence, during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the city in November, a six-month investigation by The Washington Post shows.
The events in San Francisco illustrate how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is willing to extend its intolerance of any dissent into the United States and target people exercising their First Amendment rights in an American city. It is part of a broader global pattern of China attempting to reach beyond its borders and suppress parts of its diaspora advocating against the CCP and ongoing rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and mainland China, the U.S. government and human rights groups say.
A number of diaspora group leaders have long-standing links to Beijing, according to Chinese state media, photos of high-level events and interviews, including with Chinese activists, former FBI officials and researchers. These include ties to the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Communist Party which uses non-state actors to further China’s political goals overseas, blurring the line between civilians and state officials.
The Post investigation found:
While there was aggression from both sides, the most extreme violence was instigated by pro-CCP activists and carried out by coordinated groups of young men embedded among them, verified videos show. Anti-Xi protesters were attacked with extended flagpoles and chemical spray, punched, kicked and had fistfuls of sand thrown in their faces.
The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles paid for supporters’ hotels and meals as an incentive to participate, according to messages shared in WeChat groups reviewed by The Post. At least 35 pro-CCP Chinese diaspora groups showed up to the APEC summit protests — including groups from New York, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
Videos show at least four Chinese diplomats from the consulates in Los Angeles and San Francisco among the crowd of pro-CCP protesters, sometimes directly interacting with aggressive actors over four days of protests from Nov. 14-17. Some Chinese diaspora group leaders with ties to the Chinese state participated in some of the violence, the videos show.
Chinese diplomats hired at least 60 private security guards to “protect” Chinese diaspora groups gathered to welcome Xi, according to seven people involved in the arrangement.
Acts of violence
Of the more than a dozen attacks against activists that The Post tallied over the four days that Xi was in San Francisco, among the most severe was an assault on Zhang Kaiyu, a 51-year old Chinese man, and his two friends, Chau Kaihung, 73, and Li Delong, 40, all immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong.
On Nov. 17, the three men were walking away from a protest site when they passed a group of nine young men, some wearing red scarves used to signify support for the CCP during Xi’s visit.
Flooding the zone
The arrival of pro-Beijing groups in San Francisco was orchestrated by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and state-linked community leaders. The result was a contingent of hundreds of people decked out in coordinated uniforms, hats, banners and flags distributed to participants by pro-Beijing diaspora groups.
The Post identified 32 Chinese diaspora leaders who helped organize these contingents, many with ties to the Chinese state, according to a review of Chinese state-linked media, official Chinese government websites and social media pages, diaspora leaders’ social media pages, as well as photos and videos.
Among them was Los Angeles-based business owner Lu Qiang, a co-founder or founder of several pro-CCP organizations. In an interview with the World Journal, one of the largest Chinese-language newspapers in the United States, Lu said he had organized 20 buses, booked 400 hotel rooms and coordinated 800 people arriving to welcome Xi at APEC.
