Overseas Chinese Scholar Comments on Flushing Incident

Overseas Chinese Scholar Comments on Flushing Incident
7/13/2008
Updated:
7/19/2008
The chairman of the non-communist independent Chinese Students and Scholars Associations in Germany, accepted an Epoch Times interview and advised Chinese students studying abroad to draw the line with the Chinese Communist Party.Recently, Peng Xiaoming, Chairman of the non-communist independent Chinese Students and Scholars Organizations in Germany, accepted an Epoch Times interview. From his own experience, Peng commented about the Flushing incident and advised Chinese students studying abroad to obtain a clear and deeper understanding about the Chinese communist regime, and draw the line with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Peng has been threatened and even attacked by the Chinese Consulate for his daring speeches. The Chinese Consulate has created troubles in his daily life and even hired thugs to beat him up. He disclosed the regime’s rascal means with his personal experiences and urged people not to follow the regime blindly, but develop their own independent thinking. 

The reporter asked if he would share his views regarding the attacks on the Falun Gong volunteers in the Quit the CCP Service Center and other Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York.

Peng: I saw the news on New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) that the CCP premeditatedly orchestrated the attack, using Chinese hoodlums who were brought in to attack and insult the volunteers of the service center and Falun Gong practitioners. This kind of violence makes people indignant. The CCP has a long history of conducting this kind of violence, I have personally experienced it.

Over ten years ago, the CCP Consulate harassed me because I reported and commented on the regime’s order to open fire on the students in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing. At that time, the consul director Bao Kelun of the CCP Embassy in Bonn exerted pressure on me through the chairman of the board of the Chinese School Pang WaiBang. Learning from the local Chinese that I was very good at writing articles and editing newspapers, they hoped to recruit and train me as a member of their newspaper. 

Pang asked me to apologize to the CCP consulate, and threatened that if I didn’t self-criticize (1), it would mean that I viciously attacked the CCP. When I refused, they said, ‘You will be in big trouble when you return home, and you will run into problems whatever you do.’ I replied, ‘Western reporters all wrote that Deng Xiaoping, Yang Shangkun, and Li Peng are all executioners. Why should I be the one to apologize? I am not going to apologize!’

As such, they used many ways to harass me. As an example, I was employed teaching children in a Chinese school, they instigated the Chinese School’s board of directors to fire me. I filed a lawsuit that the CCP dreaded, so the CCP told the local German reporters that the Embassy had nothing to do with it, it was solely a conflict between the school and myself. I won the lawsuit, and the court ruled that the Chinese School was to compensate me 2,000 Deutsche Marks (US$1,100)  

Early in 2003, I went to Hamburg to attend a Taiwan and Mainland Overseas Chinese Symposium where I spoke on the relationship across the straits [Taiwan and China). I spoke about the situation of the democratic student movement after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and criticized the Mainland’s spokesman for the CCP’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the Chinese regime. I also expressed my view that mainland Chinese should learn from Taiwan people to elect our own leader. 

Many attendants, particularly those from Taiwan, applauded me enthusiastically. After the meeting, someone suddenly approached me and shouted at me in vulgar language. I said to him not to scold others but to exchange views. He then punched me and knocked off my glasses. I asked how could he hit others, and I was going to take a picture of him (I happened to have a camera hanging over my neck). 

When I lifted my camera and aimed it at him, someone (I couldn’t tell who because I lost my glasses,) hit my hand that held the camera and broke my pinkie, injuring me badly. Both men, who scolded and hit me ran away quickly. At the same time, a consulate staff member, Ma Guoqing and some others held me tightly such that I could not fight back while they pretended to shout, “Don’t fight, don’t fight.”

I believe this whole attack was premeditated. It took me more than a month to heal. These types of incidents happened in various overseas regions. 

When I saw the news about the Flushing incident, I immediately connected it with my experience. It was certainly organized by the Chinese Consulate. The Flushing incident was of a much larger scale, more barbaric, and it mobilized more thugs in comparison with what happened to me ever before. I feel it is very immoral and it is in violation of American laws. 

I hope all just Chinese will stand up, stand on the just side and the side of law and order to condemn the thugs brought in by the Chinese Consulate and to condemn the Consulate officials, because what they have done violates the fundamental moral code and laws of that country.

Reporter: Why do you think the CCP stirred up the Flushing incident at this time?

Peng: I think there are many related factors. To the CCP, the year 2008 is a ‘disaster year.’ First the snow storm in the south, then the Tibet unrest broke out on March 14, and then the tragic Wenchuan earthquake happened on May 12 in Sichuan Province, and now the forthcoming 2008 Olympics. 

The CCP has been very afraid that it is simply not a lucky year for them; there have been just too many problems. To shift people’s attention, they used the scheme of attacking others to divert people’s hatred toward them. So they attacked volunteers of the Quit the CCP Service Center and other Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing and also in many other countries. At this crucial point, they did this on purpose and intentionally chose a time when the Olympics is coming and when disasters happen continually, this is a planned and premeditated measure.

Reporter: Why did the CCP chose Quit the CCP Service Center as the target of attack to convert the domestic crisis?

Peng: The Epoch Times published an editorial series entitled “The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party,” which aroused a huge reaction, especially from those middle-age and elderly Chinese who have experienced various political movements. People used to be deceived and enticed by the CCP. The CCP’s poison has destroyed Chinese culture and morals. As a result, there is no love or caring between Chinese people as if they grew up nursing on wolf’s milk. 

People started to remember what had happened. Some of those who have joined the CCP, the Communist Youth League, or the Young Pioneers feel they have been cheated by the CCP. Many Chinese people started to think independently after going out of China through tours, studying abroad or by other means. Many are willing to part with the CCP and its troops, to draw the line with the CCP. The Quit the CCP Service Center is available and able to help them. Therefore, spreading the news of Quitting the CCP through media such as New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) programs and the Epoch Times to all overseas Chinese has become an enormous threat to the ideology and organizations controlled by the CCP.

At a time when the entire nation is shrouded in disasters and when the world is seriously questioning the Olympic human rights situation in China, the CCP is terrified. Under these circumstances the CCP has grasped the Quit the CCP campaign as its target and futilely attempted to relieve the pressure by attacking the Quit the CCP Service Center.

Reporter: Now, many Flushing residents also understood what really happened and that the CCP is behind the violence. What is your opinion about some pro-CCP Chinese politicians in the United States that have come out to speak for the CCP. Also what’s your view about the use of pro-communist thugs attacking Falun Gong followers with weapons and even assaulting the New York police?

Peng: Since the incident happened in Flushing, the CCP started to mobilize more senior special agents. They hired people who know how to fight and used batons to beat Falun Gong followers. It means the one behind the scene is getting upset. On the other hand, many mob participants saw the New York police actually arrest the trouble makers and that they could be sentenced or repatriated. Therefore, fewer people were willing to do such a dirty job. 

For this reason, the CCP had to mobilize those with social status in the United States and try to influence the upper class through them. The Chinese consulate attempted to eliminate the negative image it had created locally and throughout the country. 

Reporter: What do you have to say to overseas Chinese and students? 

Peng: After the Flushing incident, two demonstrations were held in Berlin. One was held by Tibetans and the Germans, about 500 participated. The other was held by the Chinese students, about 3000 of them were mustered and they all carried red communist flags. 

This demonstration was obviously instigated by the Chinese consulate in Germany, otherwise there wouldn’t be such a quick response with this many students and this many communist flags. The Chinese consulate trains many special agents in Germany. The German magazine, Der Spiegel had a report regarding this issue. After the report was published, someone tried to take the media to court—this action proved the newspaper was right. I want to tell Chinese people in Germany that some people used to work in the Chinese consulate and later they chose to stay in Germany running a business[financed by the CCP]. Some of these people have family background very close to the CCP and they are in fact controlled by the Chinese consulate and are agents of its special department. I know this for a fact and I have even had contact with some of them. 

I want to remind overseas Chinese students that the CCP is not China. Besides the CCP’s official newspapers, there are other [independent] publications such as the Epoch Times and the Chinese European Post. They should try to learn more about society and culture in Germany other countries rather than just doing school work. This is important because this way we can broaden our horizon and see the disadvantages back in China. 

There is no freedom of speech, belief, or news in China. Since we came to the West, we should learn their values so we can rebuild the society in China. We should never let the Chinese consulate or the special agents confuse and poison us. The CCP and the Chinese regime are doing everything they can to suppress Falun Gong, the Epoch Times, democratic activists, and dissidents. The CCP fears them because they expose its evil actions. 

We Chinese need to think independently and learn traditional values while we are in Europe and not be part of the CCP. We love our nation, our culture, our people, and not the CCP or its party culture. 

(1) 1 Self criticize refers to a process of publicly making a statement of apology and repentance.