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"The Congresswoman also noted a meeting she had with a man who had been "beaten up by Chinese thugs' in the U.S. [Tang Baiqiao]
"Ros-Lehtinen had a warning for the Chinese embassy and consulates in the U.S.:
"Any Chinese diplomat who engages in the coordination of an assault on an American citizen inside this country should be declared 'persona non-grata' by the State Department and sent out of the United States.'"
Next, Tang Baiqiao made a campaign out of this incident. He held one press conference in New York on July 21, and another press conference in Washington on July 30. The New York event was part of a series of "Flushing Forums." As reported by the Epoch Times (See this link),
"The Flushing community began to hold the forums and other activities exposing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) involvement in a sequence of violent assaults of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP organized individuals that began on May 17, 2008 on the streets of Flushing."
The Flushing Forum also heard a speech from Dr. Gao Dawei, reprinted here: at this link
Both the New York and Washington events had representatives from several other pro-democracy groups on hand to denounce the attack against Tang Baiqiao. In Washington, the press conference was held at the Rayburn House Office Building of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) sent a representative. Also, the exiled leader of the World Uyghur Congress, Rebiya Kadeer, was represented by Alim Seytoff, Vice President of the Uyghur American Association.
As reported by Gary Feurerberg in the Epoch Times,
"The purpose of the press conference was to awaken the public and alert law enforcement in the U.S.Justice Department, F.B.I., the Congress, Homeland Securityto illegal activities being allegedly conducted by the People's Republic of China within the shores of the United States, and that the violence towards free expression common in China is being transplanted to America".
"Mr. Tang expressed some frustration in convincing others that the attack on him was planned and executed by Chinese communist agents in the U.S. The police, F.B.I. and Homeland Security still "do not believe 100 percent' that the attack was from the CCP, he said.
""I am confident the CCP did this to me,' Tang said. There was no reason for anyone else to beat him, he explained. "We have a lot of evidence on the truth of the CCP, but I don't want to affect the investigation. I can't say much more, or give too much detail.'".
""Mr. Tang's activities and close association with the Falun Gong group aroused the attention of the Chinese Communist [regime] and he has been closely followed,' said Jintao Cao, Chairman of Chinese Coalition for Citizens Rights, at the news conference. "He received death threats a number of times and he told me before that the Chinese [regime] has been trying to have one of his arms or legs for tens of thousands of dollars.'"
Tang Baiqiao wants the U.S. justice system, including figures such as Attorney General Eric Holder, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to lean into this case. Leaders of the pro-democracy cause are seeing the Flushing incidents as part and parcel of their struggle for democracy in China. They see linkages between the situation in Flushing and the situation in China, and many dissidents have responded with denunciation for the violence, and by making the incident a jumping off point to underscore what they have been saying about the coming demise of the CCP.
For its part, the China Support Network (CSN) deplores the violence in Flushing, and has no doubt that the attacks are initiated by those who salute the red flag of Communist China. We reiterate our prior denunciation of violence in Flushing, and refer observers to a prior update (See this link), which has a CSN speech that was delivered at a rally in Flushing, run by Falun Gong practitioners on June 14, 2008.
CSN also recommends a change in the China policy of the U.S. executive branch. North Korea and Cuba do not get any rewards for having Communist Party-run governments; the rewards for China's communists, dictators, tyrants and thugs are obscenities, and place the United States in the morally reprehensible situation of being a financial backer and hence accessory to the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Communist Party.
When U.S. China policy more closely resembles its North Korea policy; when we are calling out China as a rogue nation and a failed state; then, justice will be better served and the U.S. will be back to its original values, nature, and character. Until then, "We are off the rails," in the words of John Kusumi, CSN's founder and director emeritus.
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