Who Blocked the Sidewalks in Flushing, Ms. Young?

NEW YORK—When Falun Gong practitioners finally met with New York State Assemblywoman Ellen Young on July 2—after repeated excuses from her as to why she would not meet with the victims of prolonged harassment and abuse on the streets of her district—they must have been taken aback by two things.

First of all, Ms. Young—minutes after she had watched a video showing mob violence—refused to answer questions about whether she would condemn the physical violence and abuse against Falun Gong that had occurred in Flushing since May 17. She dodged, shifted, twisted uncomfortably in her chair, and repeatedly evaded the issue.

Secondly—after dodging the questions posed to her—Ms. Young told the Falun Gong practitioners, "I want you to understand one point. You were blocking the sidewalks." She proceeded to explain that she had gotten "complaints" that Falun Gong practitioners had been blocking the sidewalks.

I have a question for you, Ms. Young, who was really blocking the sidewalks?

Photos and video taken of the events starting from May 17 show clearly that there were huge groups of mobs that got together to condemn and threaten Falun Gong practitioners.

The members of the mob numbered in the hundreds, and on May 20th, probably close to a thousand. It is obvious to anyone, even those without a clue to what was going on, that these people were the ones blocking the sidewalks.

In addition to blocking the sidewalks, they were also extremely aggressive, insulting, and threatening. Several Flushing residents have quietly expressed their distaste for these people.

Some of the violence that seemed acceptable to certain Flushing politicians: Flushing resident Edmond Erh was assaulted by a pro-CCP mob while volunteering at a "Quit the CCP" booth. (Dayin Chen/The Epoch Times)

In contrast, Falun Gong practitioners numbered probably a few dozen, maybe 30 or 40 on May 20 and other days. It was only over a couple of weekends that close to a 1,000 people congregated to condemn the violence that had happened in Flushing.

In addition, Ms. Young, you were on the scene several times, as you described yourself. And as you have admitted, you lived close to the scenes of the violence.

Do you really think that Falun Gong practitioners were the ones blocking the sidewalks?