FLUSHING, New York City—The atmosphere in Flushing's Chinatown has been tense for the past several weeks since the outbreak of violent attacks on the Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by Chinese pro-communist mobs.
The Service Center's information booth has been operating in Flushing for several years, assisting local Chinese in withdrawing from the CCP. The staff and supporters held a rally last month to commemorate the millions worldwide who have already quit the CCP.
Since that time, harassment and intimidation, beatings and other physical attacks, and death threats have been reported by members of the Service Center, which is staffed by volunteers who are largely Falun Gong practitioners. In addition, Falun Gong practitioners holding signs or distributing flyers in the Chinatown area have also been verbally and physically assaulted.
One local resident, Mr. Yeh, 57, recently found himself in such a predicament—experiencing firsthand some of what Falun Gong people have been experiencing.
"I made a comment that Falun Gong has the right to monitor the government [CCP]. They're [Falun Gong] just saying that the cause of the collapse of the schools is because of the corruption between the government officials and business people; they're tied together. "So when I made this comment to other people, someone even said, 'Pull him out and beat him to death!' C'mon, I've been in the U.S. for 30 years. I'm American citizen. It's just like the story of the beggar and the gentleman. The gentleman who took pity on the beggar, and took him in, provided shelter for the beggar, but then the beggar kicked the gentleman out of his own house.
"This seriously violates U.S. law," commented Mr. Yeh, who is originally from Taiwan. "How can you say to me, 'Go back to Taiwan?' I'm standing here. Who dares to hit me?"
He went on to say that the mob has "no sense of democracy. They think, 'You don't agree [with] me, so I'll attack you.' That is very [much] against the Constitution of America. You don't even give them [Falun Gong] the right to speak.
"Those people that have been brainwashed by the Communist Party, they cannot think for themselves; they don't have an independent mind. They don't know that China belongs to Chinese people and [does] not belong to CCP.
"Actually, the communist government is an illegal government. It didn't go through legal election process by the people, and it didn't get the support of the people. It's a power that they [the CCP] took with violence."
When asked what he would say to the mobs and the people who are still confused, Mr. Yeh replied, "I don't like to talk to those people on the street. And, honestly, I feel that I will be attacked. And if I was, I'm not confident that I will have the support for justice."
Even though he is an American citizen and living in the United States, he is still fearful of the CCP. "Those people have a violent tendency, so I will not talk to them," he said.
"If someone asked me whether they can take a photo and quote me, I would say 'no' to photo, because in this community, I feel I can be attacked—I don't feel safe. It's such a pity. It's such a shame. We can't even get rid of this fear in the community," said Mr. Yeh.
Mr. Yeh's photo has been withheld.
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