FLUSHING—New York City Councilmember John Liu has met with members of the pro-communist mobs that have caused so much unrest in Flushing in the past two months, invited them into his office, and listened to their "complaints."
On June 30, Councilmember Liu hosted Victor Yau (also known as Qiu Wei,) and Sui Zhijie. Yau has been charged with a hate crime by the Brooklyn District Attorney for attacking Falun Gong practitioner John Yu with a steering-wheel locking device.
Since the start of the Flushing mob violence, Yau has often roamed the street of Flushing wearing a vest with words slandering Falun Gong. Sui Zhijie was arrested for attacking police officers during mob activity directed against Falun Gong practitioners.
Councilmemeber Liu has refused to meet with local Falun Gong practitioners several times since the start of unrest.
One of Liu's consitiuents, Judy Chen, tried to tell Liu how she was beaten up by pro-communist thugs on the street of Flushing, but was ignored.
Another Falun Gong practitioner, Jane Dai, tried to tell Liu how her husband was tortured to death in China because of his belief in Falun Gong, but Liu was not interested because the incident did not happen in his district.
Arrested Attackers Unhappy Their Crimes Captured on Film
Since May 17, The Epoch Times has published a series of photos of people threatening, insulting and attacking Falun Gong practitioners on Flushing streets.
According to Liu's office, the special complaint session hosted by Liu on June 30 was especially arranged for those who are not happy about being photographed and having their photos published in the media, specifically in The Epoch Times.
According to NYPD official Lt. Grimpel, New York law gives anyone the freedom to take others' photos in any public space.
Media copyright laws also define journalists' rights to take photos in public, and specify that the media owns the copyrights of those photos taken by their journalists.
As Flushing Calms Down, Meeting Re-Ignites Controversy
Starting on May 17, mobs of CCP supporters have been slandering, threatening, and verbally and physically attacking Falun Gong practitioners and volunteer workers at the "Quit the CCP" Service Center in front of the Flushing Library. These attacks were at least in part orchestrated by the Chinese Consul General in New York, Peng Keyu.
Several volunteers were injured by the mobs, and property was destroyed. The Service Center remained open.
The Falun Gong practitioners and "Quit the CCP" Service Center volunteers who were the focus of the mob violence refused to be intimidated, and continued to tell Flushing residents about the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party and the persecution of Falun Gong inside China and overseas.
The mobs in Flushing have slowly shrunk, and incidents of violence have died down; residents are returning to their routines.
At this time, as peace is returning to Flushing, Councilmember Liu decided to meet with noted members of the mob arrested for violent acts during the unrest in Flushing.
Discrimination?
Since June 2, local Flushing practitioners have repeatedly requested to meet with Liu, to seek his help in maintaining their rights, but all the requests were denied.
Falun Gong practitioners living in Liu's district feel that Liu's decision to meet with arrested members of the mob while rejecting meeting requests by the victims of mob violence is discriminatory behavior.
CCP Incites Flushing Mobs
An Epoch Times reporter interviewed attorney Ye Ning regarding Liu's actions. Ye commented that in the United States, a councilperson is elected by the people, so he cannot choose which of those people he wants to represent.
According to Ye, if Liu were to choose to listen to people who had been confirmed to attack another group of people, who had called for the extermination of a certain group of people, and who had helped export the Chinese regime's policy of genocide to the U.S., then this U.S. official was choosing to act as a representative of the Chinese communist regime.
Flushing Falun Gong practitioner Yi Rong went to Liu's office on June 30, but did not get an audience.
Yi Rong told a reporter, "Liu continues to ignore the requests from Falun Gong practitioners who were assaulted and beaten up, but made an arrangement to meet with those thugs, who attacked Falun Gong practitioners, instigated the hatred of Falun Gong, and who were arrested by the police. This constitutes discrimination."
Yi commented, "Liu's arrangement indicated his open support of the Chinese communist regime, he has effectively become a CCP accomplice. The United States government should initiate an investigation about Liu's relationship with the CCP."
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