Remarks of Supervisor Chris Daly Concerning Attempts at Intimidation by the Chinese Government in
San Francisco
Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing
June 11th, 2002
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.
á
Category: Perspective
