By a Dafa practitioner in Chicago
(Clearwisdom.net) After the two criminals who beat up a Falun Gong
practitioner on a hunger strike in front of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago in
2001 pleaded guilty in the criminal case, they were recently served with a civil
lawsuit, seeking compensation. They were accused of multiple charges, including assault and conspiracy. Since the Circuit Court for Cook
County accepted this civil lawsuit on September 2003, there have been a number
of hearings, and the two sides will soon meet in court
as the case proceeds. Plaintiffs Bill Fang and Lu Feng filed a civil lawsuit with the Circuit Court
for Cook County in 2003, in which they accused the three people involved of premeditated attacks on them. They said that the accused had been
influenced by the Jiang Zemin regime's malicious propaganda and had committed hate
crimes against Falun Gong practitioners. After that, the plaintiffs tried numerous times to deliver the complaint to
the accused according to legal procedures. Although the accused used all kinds
of excuses to evade responsibility, the all three were eventually served
with the complaint in May 2004. Zheng Jiming, one of the three who beat up a
Falun Gong practitioner in front of the Chinese Consulate, had refused to accept
the complaint on numerous occasions. The last time he came face to face with the
process server, he still refused to admit his identity and refused to accept the
complaint. When the plaintiffs confirmed his identity, he
was finally served with the complaint. The prosecutor, Mr. Leonard Beck, presented a supplementary complaint, which
requires a response from the defendant Zheng Jiming's lawyer by August 30, 2004. The difference between this case and other crimes of battery stems from the
fact that there was no issue between the victim and his attackers, and the
defendants did not have any other motive for their attack except for their
hatred of Falun Gong. These crimes were
committed in front of the Chicago Chinese Consulate, where Falun Gong
practitioners had experienced all kinds of harassment before. One such example was an attack and sexual harassment on July 13, 2001, led by Qiu Chaolian,
chairman of the Chinese Association in Chicago. Two months later, on
September 7, an even more serious incident took place in which Zheng Jiming and
Weng Yujun beat up a Falun Gong practitioner and sent death threats to
witnesses. It is not clear if the two incidents are connected. The defendants of both cases have strong ties with the Chicago Chinese
Consulate. The Chinese Association, led by Qiu Chaolian, has been closely following the Jiang regime outside of China and has
on several occasions attacked and slandered Falun Gong under the instigation of
Chinese consular officials. Qiu was quickly promoted to the chairman of the
association from a deputy role after his battery of Falun Gong practitioners and
has kept that position to date. He was also acclaimed as a
"patriotic overseas Chinese leader" for his "achievement."
He was granted a personal audience with Jiang Zemin, who is the head perpetrator
of the persecution, and he was profusely praised by the Chinese
government. In addition, the Chinese State Council appointed him to the position
of an advisor for the overseas Chinese association, and he was invited to attend
the National People's Congress in China. There is a slight difference between Qiu Chaolian and the two thugs Zheng
Jiming and Weng Yujun. The latter fled the scene quickly after the incident and
for a long time kept quiet and a very low profile. Their identity was discovered after their arrest in June 2002. Both are key members of the Mid-USA Fujian Township Association of Chicago, organized by their townsman Zheng
Liguang, and both run Chinese buffet restaurants. After his arrest, Zheng Jiming
claimed that he did not know the plaintiff and had nothing to do with him. He
also lied, saying that he was unemployed. He tried all kinds of methods to evade
legal responsibility and even asked the deputy heads of the association, Lin
Zengxin and Sing-chok Kwok, to act as mediators. He also tried to offer $15,000 in bribes, hoping that the money would stop the lawsuit against him. Lin Zengxin also stated that Zheng had high blood pressure and did not want his
family members to worry about his involvement in a lawsuit. Furthermore, he was
concerned that his application for refugee status would be affected, and cited
other concerns in hopes that the case against him could be withdrawn.
In addition, he adamantly denies any connection with the Chinese Consulate. Most of the members of the Mid-USA Fujian
Township Association were illegal immigrants who later obtained U.S.
citizenship by applying for refugee status, including the chairman of the
association Zheng Liguang, who obtained U.S. permanent residency the same way.
Although Zheng Jiming, Zheng Liguang and Weng Yujun are all "refugees"
from China who came to the U.S., both Zheng Liguang and the
deputy head of the association, Lin Zengxin, were "honored" with a
personal reception by Jiang Zemin. Weng Yujun had waved a red flag to welcome
Jiang Zemin to Chicago. Zheng Liguang even said that his
association was like a baby, growing up under the love and care of the Chinese
Consulate. Since the identities of the two criminals were revealed in June 2002,
although the two avoided many public activities, kept a
low profile and avoided making contact with the Chinese Consulate, the Chinese
Consulate continued to show concern and gave support to the Fujian
Township Association. For example, at the association's banquet on the 2000
Thanksgiving Day, high level officials from the Chinese Consulate and Qiu Chaolian
from the Chinese Association attended the function. The then deputy
consul-general and acting consul-general Shen Weilian said,
"In the U.S., Thanksgiving Day is an occasion for a family get-together,
and today the Chicago Chinese Consulate and the members of the Fujian Township
Association are celebrating the day together as one family." There is another Fujian Township Association in Chicago, which did not act under the influence of the Chinese Consulate. Even in Zheng
Liguang's mid-USA Fujian Township Association, only a small faction were
involved in the battery case. In April 2004, at the 4th General Meeting of the Chinese
Association, when Qiu Chaolian was again appointed chairman of the association,
Zheng Liguang, as head of the affiliated mid-USA Fujian Township Association,
was promoted to the position of deputy chairman of the Chinese Association.
In the introduction of the chairman and deputy chairmen of the association, it
was mentioned in particular that Zheng Liguang has led their countrymen from
Fujian to "overcome" difficulties in the fight against Falun Gong.
2004-7-30
September 7, 2001, Zheng Jiming, crossing the street towards Mr. Fang as
his accomplice Weng Yujun emerges from the back seat of a car.
August 27, 2002, Zheng Jiming (right) and Kwok, Sing-chok (left), try to avoid
being photographed on their way to court.
Posting date: 8/7/2004
Original article date: 8/7/2004
Category: News & Media Reports
Translated on 8/3/2004
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/7/31/80719.html