Chinese Activists Condemn China’s Secret Agents in US

Pro-democracy activists display a “Pillar of Shame” banner over a bridge during an event commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. Courtesy of Jie Lijian

Pro-democracy activists held activities commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Monterey Park city, Los Angeles, on May 28. Several Chinese students and dissidents attended the “The Pillar of Shame” event, where several speakers condemned Beijing’s secret agents who endanger Chinese nationals living in the United States.

The “Pillar of Shame” statue memorializes those killed during the student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

Xu Shaowei, a former student of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, speaks during a rally to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. Shawn Ma/The Epoch Times

On May 26, the Justice Department arrested two illegal agents of Beijing, John Chen and Lin Feng, who allegedly carried out the regime’s transnational repression campaign against Falun Gong adherents by bribing a purported IRS official.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline involving meditative exercises and moral teachings based on three core principles: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The practice gained popularity in China during the 1990s, with estimates putting the number of adherents at 70 to 100 million at the height of its popularity.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), fearing the number of practitioners posed a threat to its authoritarian control, initiated a sweeping campaign to eradicate the practice starting on July 20, 1999, which continues today.

‘They Can’t Threaten Me’

Jie Lijian, one of the event’s organizers, called on the attendees to act as the “brave scavengers” to clean the “communist garbage” out of the United States and to safeguard the community in the free world.

He had encountered CCP agents on several occasions in which he was physically attacked and received death threats.

Jie said the CCP sends thugs to surveil pro-democracy activists in the United States.

“I won’t give in. I am ready to risk it all. They can’t threaten me,” he told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.

Speaking at the rally, he said the CCP’s illegal activities in the United States could be stopped by law-abiding Chinese immigrants who love America and want to give back to the country.

Jie Lijian, an organizer of an event commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, gives a speech in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. Shawn Ma/The Epoch Times

Another organizer, Zeng Yuemei, reminded the attendees—most of whom had recently immigrated to the United States—that they left China to save future generations from slavery, lies, and tyranny under the CCP.

“We should not turn a blind eye to the suffering of our compatriots inside the wall, let alone defend the CCP’s evil [actions] and act as a thug of the evil regime,” she said.

Zeng condemned the CCP’s minions, including Chen and Feng, for endangering and intimidating innocent Chinese people and undermining the rule of law. “It’s shameful; they should just be sent back to their ‘beloved’ China,” she said.

Zeng Yuemeian, an organizer of an event commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. Shawn Ma/The Epoch Times

New Immigrants Speak Up

Some people who recently fled China spoke at the event and weren’t afraid to expose the CCP’s atrocities.

Feng Zhiyuan chanted, “Kick the CCP [agents] out of the United States.” He believes the CCP poses a danger to the world and that the “Chinese will forever suffer as long as the CCP is ruling [China].”

Zhang Liumin (in a white t-shirt), who recently fled China, joins an event commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. The Chinese police are allegedly harassing Zhang's family in China. Shawn Ma/The Epoch Times

Zhang Liumin, who immigrated to the United States last November, said the Chinese police continue to intimidate her parents in China due to her pro-democracy activities in the United States. However, she said she wouldn’t back down and hoped her family would support her decision.

Rights defender Li Beixing (wearing a white shirt and cap) speaks at an event commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 28, 2023. Shawn Ma/The Epoch Times

Li Beixing, a human rights activist from China’s central Henan Province, criticized Chinese spies and said their behavior resulted from being brainwashed by the CCP.

His wife’s family members were victims of the HIV-tainted blood scandal in the 1990s. He was once arrested by the Chinese police over his rights-defending activities in Guangdong, a southern coastal province.

He warned, “Those who go along with the CCP will surely get eliminated by Heaven.”

Shawn Ma contributed to this report.