FLUSHING, New York City—Falun Gong practitioners were met with surprise as they asked 22nd District assemblywoman, Ellen Young to offer support in the face of the violent attacks directed against them in Flushing.
In light of the verbal and physical attacks directed against them since May 17 in Flushing, Falun Gong practitioners have repeatedly made efforts to meet with Young without success. Over a month later, on July 3, at least 20 Falun Gong practitioners went to Young's office to request a public statement condemning those who attacked them on the streets of Flushing.
Crowding into a small meeting room in the back of her office, practitioners waited for the assemblywoman to appear. When Young came and sat with her assistant, practitioners showed her a video of the violence that took place on Main Street, near the Queens Library. The video showed pro-communist mobs attacking Falun Gong practitioners, tearing up banners, shouting "Kill! Kill! Falun Gong!" waving Chinese communist flags, throwing things, and spitting on Falun Gong practitioners.
While watching the video, Young asked those present if they knew where and when the incident took place. When those at the meeting confirmed, Young replied, "Then you do realize that it was during a time when people were very sad about the earthquake?"
Refusing to Condemn the Violence
The Falun Gong practitioners present told Young that the violence was not because of the Sichuan earthquake, as the attackers were shouting hateful slogans directly against Falun Gong, not their response of the earthquake. Young continued by describing her position saying, "It made me feel ashamed that groups would block the sidewalk."Erping Zhang, the representative for Falun Gong practitioners who were present at the meeting asked Young if she would condemn those who attacked them in Flushing, Young dodged the question by saying that her offices are open six days a week.
Zhang continued to ask Young if she would condemn the attackers, yet each time she changed the subject. It wasn't until the fourth time he asked the question that Young replied, "You should be very fair to everyone in this community."
Dodging Questions
After Zhang asked the question no less than eight times, Young replied, "Ok, next question."
The back-and-forth continued. Zhang asked the assemblywoman, "So you would not condemn those who attacked Falun Gong? I just want to ask you yes or no."
Young dodged the questions each of the 10 times Zhang posed it.
Falun Gong practitioners then tried to explain why they insist on passing out materials, describing the persecution of their practice in China and the Chinese Communist Party's campaign to slander the practice to the Chinese people. One man stated that "The issue is that crimes against humanity are happening, they're documented, and they're coming in here, and they want to start saying, 'eliminate Falun Gong' here in the U.S."
"I want you to understand one point," replied Young. "You were blocking the sidewalks."
One woman questioned Young. "You're taking these complaints as heavier than hate crimes?" she asked.
The meeting continued for a bit in Chinese before Young stood up and left the room, clearly emotional.
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