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Reference Article: Testimony before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus: The PRC's Anti-Human Rights Tactics in the United States (Part 6)
Remarks of Supervisor Chris Daly Concerning Attempts at Intimidation by the Chinese Government in
San Francisco Ms. Chair, members of the Committee, my name is Chris Daly, and I represent District 6 on the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors. I am honored to be here today to discuss my experiences with the
Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. I believe that their actions have been antidemocratic and
heavy-handed. Your courage in investigating these activities is appreciated. [...] Local government is the level of government where elected officials are closest to their
constituents and to the needs of residents. I was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
with over 81% of the vote from one of the City's poorest districts, not to make foreign policy, but
to work on issues of housing, health care and services for seniors. But in my first few months of
office, many district residents who were Chinese immigrants called me to say that, as Falun Gong
practitioners, they were intimidated by the Chinese government.1 American citizens in my
district reported similar treatment. Given this information, I endeavored to send a clear signal that this treatment is unacceptable.
Working with these constituents, I introduced a simple resolution urging the Chinese government to
end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. On October 5, 2001 in response to my resolution, Wang Yunxiang, the Consul General of the
People's Republic of China, sent a letter to our Board President full of disinformation designed to
kill my measure. In this letter, the Consul General states that Falun Gong is an [slanderous term
omitted] and that "the Chinese government felt obliged to ban [slanderous term omitted]."
To justify their actions, Wang stated that Falun Gong "forbids followers from seeing
doctors for medical treatment when they become ill." It should be noted that Falun Gong
practitioners deny this. The real issue is not the nature of the beliefs of Falun Gong but whether Falun Gong
practitioners are free to have and express their beliefs. The Chinese government claims that the
"practitioners often gather in front of the government building, public places to disrupt the
normal social order." In the United States, the right to assemble is a Constitutional right.
Even though it is also guaranteed in China's constitution, I find it most disingenuous that these
rights do not apply to Falun Gong practitioners or anyone else considered a dissident. The tragedy here is that the Chinese Government's vision of a normal social order includes
bullying, both inside China and here by the Chinese consulate and the deployment of high-ranking
political operatives to exert pressure on local decision makers. During the Board of Supervisors hearing on the item in October many Falun Gong practitioners
testified about the brutal treatment they received in China. Some were in tears recounting horrific
events. Some testified about harassment they received here in San Francisco. A smaller number of
people, organized by Rose Pak, a prominent political figure with ties to the Chinese government,
testified against the measure. They generally repeated the line put out by the Chinese Consulate. During the hearing, Rose Pak, who also is an accomplished fundraiser for local political
campaigns, worked the room, talking to at least 2 Supervisors in the Board chambers. My legislation, the likes of which typically pass the San Francisco Board of Supervisors without
objection, became the subject of international debate and was ultimately thwarted by powerful local
politicos influenced by the diplomatic mission of a foreign government. My legislation supporting
the rights of Falun Gong practitioners was voted down 8 to 3. John Dowling, the attorney for a Falun Gong practitioner assaulted in Portsmouth Square, said
that the first place the alleged assailants went for help after they were arrested was to Rose Pak's
Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Dowling has been quoted, "We see a pattern here, which we will
pursue in court, of using people in San Francisco to go against the Falun Gong members who are only
practicing their religion [beliefs; Note: Falun Gong is not a religion.] as guaranteed by the
United States government." Dowling continues, "You wonder why, in a city like San
Francisco, it would be a problem to pass a resolution defending the rights of Falun Gong
practitioners." [...] Following the defeat of my resolution at the Board of Supervisors, I received a phone call from
Consul General Wang seeking to develop "a new understanding" between us. After
reiterating some of his comments about Falun Gong [...], he said that I was misinformed and that I
should be his guest in China to see how it "really is". Although I declined this
invitation, I did tell the Consul-General that I would be interested in a less formal dialogue about
broader social issues. However, it quickly became clear to me that the Consul-General was not able
to have this conversation - he repeated twice that we should "develop a new
understanding". This, our last conversation ended when I told him to give me a call when he was
"free to talk". Ladies and gentlemen, I commend you for your commitment to take every action in your power to
protect Falun Gong practitioners and local elected officials who stand by their side. Thank you. Posting date: 11/18/2002 |