Did Beijing Ties Sway New York Councilor?

FLUSHING, New York City―When New York residents tried to speak with their city councilor after being the target of mob attacks in his district, they didn't expect to be turned away from his office while the people indicted for attacking them were invited in.

But that is exactly what happened. Council member John Liu, who represents New York's Flushing district, repeatedly rejected requests to meet with the victims, many subjected to violent assaults, until The Epoch Times published several articles detailing his questionable behavior.

Residents of Flushing who practice Falun Gong have been physically and verbally attacked on Flushing's streets since May 17, often by large mobs of fellow Chinese shouting allegations fabricated by Chinese-state controlled media.

The fabrications claim Falun Gong practitioners disrupted Sichuan earthquake donation efforts when the practitioners were actually hosting events inviting Chinese people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party. Local police acknowledge arresting at least 12 mob participants during this time. No Falun Gong practitioners were arrested.

The attackers are suspected to have links to the Chinese Consulate. In a recording obtained by The Epoch Times, Chinese Consul General Keyu Peng claims to have encouraged the attacks.

The attackers have been charged with assault, harassment, and criminal mischief but council member John Liu denied such attacks took place.

"There are some people who I believe are practitioners of Falun Gong and they have been complaining that they've been attacked," said Liu. "I'm going to ask them over again, where is there any kind of evidence that anybody has been attacked?"

Liu Has Strong Ties With Chinese Communist Regime

Liu sits on council committees including for land use, education, and health, his website notes. He also chairs the city's transportation committee.

But he's also built strong ties in Beijing. Last year, he met with the deputy director of the Chinese State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, high-level government department responsible for advancing the regime's agenda overseas and improving its image.

According to press reports of the meeting, Liu said striving for "positive interaction" between China and the U.S. was part of "the concrete work he was doing every day."

A day after the meeting, Liu was honored by a collection of Chinese state-run media and pro-Communist Party press overseas, who issued him an award titled, "The World is Beautified Because of You." Postings on the Chongqing and Shandong Province government websites heaped praise on Liu.

The city councilor's fundraising efforts have been trumpeted in Chinese state-run media, including ChinaNews.com.cn.

Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, has cited him as a potential mayor.

All Constituents Equally Served?

Falun Gong practitioners fear the attention from Beijing has influenced Liu.

When Liu held office hours to meet with constituents he personally turned away Falun Gong practitioners who came, saying he only wanted to meet those who complained about media publishing their photo in relation to the Flushing attacks.

Liu identified several Falun Gong practitioners who attempted to join the meeting and dismissed each of them loudly saying, "Bye! Bye! Bye!"

In contrast, one of Liu's guests was Qiu Wei, who is facing hate crime charges after an alleged assault against Falun Gong practitioner John Yu using a metal steering wheel lock in Liu's district.