FLUSHING, New York—Alex Marquia is a writer as well as a retired teacher and adjunct professor. When he came across the Quit CCP booth in Flushing on Sunday, June 1, and learned about the assault on Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, he was outraged at the Communist regime's violence and expressed his support for the practitioners.
"I've just become aware of events now that are taking place in Flushing. I am appalled by it. That you people, the Falun Gong, is that how you pronounce it, the organization and the meditation ... an organization that is peaceful, that is practicing its beliefs, its exercises, and meditation, its teachings, and you are viciously opposed by these gangsters, these hoodlums from China, from the Communist Party; this is absolutely unforgivable and we cannot tolerate this. Not in this country, because to me, this is worse than prejudice, this is persecution, and everyone is entitled to his or her beliefs.
"As long as we are not hurting other people, we are entitled to practice what we believe. This is a democracy; this is not Communism. Communism must end; it must cease. For 70 years, Communism has prevailed in this world, and so many millions upon millions of people have been persecuted, have suffered, have died under Communist regimes. End of the tyranny of Communism. God Bless America!"
"We are allowed to express our opinions; I am not against it. But if someone comes to attack me, the police should arrest him. If they attacked you, you have this policeman right there, you just summon him, and they will be brought not only to trial, but they will go to jail for assault and battery. They are not allowed to do this."
"[You] must devote to this cause. [This] must not be allowed in this country, or anywhere in the world that you cannot speak your mind. You are free to say what you like, what you believe ..."
When asked about the Consul General Peng Keyu, Alex said, "he is a puppet of the Communist Party. ... this is not right, not right. Police are here."
Alex had seen the Quit CCP booth before, but he had not known what it was about: "I have seen you and the organization, but I didn't know what ... this is a terrible thing, I feel bad for you. You must fight, you must resist. Otherwise, these people will trample all over you and they will try to destroy you."
When asked about whether he thought the American government should say something about the issue, Alex said, "I think you should go to him. Try to invite him to cooperate, participate in your protest. You have to get the local politicians involved .... You have to make the people in power, the government, aware of what is going on. It is extremely important. We cannot allow this.
"The legislation is already there to prevent this kind of abuse. No one is entitled to attack you. This is a free country, a forum to speak your mind, but never ever to attack. There is no such thing."
But Alex seemed to be optimistic about the eventual results. "I think that freedom will eventually come to China. I believe that."
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