Middletown, New York, Seminar Raises Awareness of CCP Threat

Attendees listen at the Wake Up to CCP Threat seminar in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 8, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Residents from Middletown and surrounding communities filled up the Mulberry Senior Center on Dec. 8 for a seminar on the infiltration of U.S. society by the Chinese Communist Party.

The infiltration is omnidirectional and at all levels, impacting places including Middletown and surrounding towns in Orange County, New York, according to experts at the seminar.

(From right to left) Kay Rubacek, Chris Chappell, Sean Lin, and moderator Jenny Chang at the Wake Up to CCP Threat seminar in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 8, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Panelists feature Chris Chappell, host of the popular YouTube channel China Uncensored, Tiananmen Square Massacre survivor and political commentator Sean Lin, and award-winning producer and “Who Are China’s Walking Dead?” author Kay Rubacek.

It was the first time that Highland Mills resident Ed Soltys attended such a seminar. He found it eye-opening, particularly the part about the Chinese regime’s influence on U.S. media.

“I didn’t know that they have so much power over our media,” Soltys told The Epoch Times. “It is shocking. I feel like I was living under a rock for not knowing.”

Sandra Santana (L) and Ed Soltys at the Wake Up to CCP Threat seminar in Middletown, N.Y. on Dec. 8, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

His wife, Sandra Santana, learned the infiltration was a key contributor to the inaction of Western countries with regard to the CCP’s numerous human rights abuses.

She said of the regime’s decades-long persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, “If killing like that didn’t merit some kind of involvement from the U.S. government as far as, not military, but financial sanctions, then how far does it have to go?”

Warwick resident Brian Torpie attended a similar seminar in Port Jervis in October and liked what he saw. He started following the host organization afterward and volunteered to help with marketing.

Brian Torpie at the Wake Up to CCP Threat seminar in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 8, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

“We have a lot of parents and grandparents that are scared about climate change and the oceans taking over the city—rightfully so if you really believe that’s going to happen in 50 years,” Torpie said. “But for me, the most intimate, clear threat to my kids is the prevalence of communism.”

He said he hoped more American people would become aware of it.

“I noticed there are a lot of Republicans and conservatives at the event, but I really wish it wouldn’t be like a red or blue thing. I just feel this is an issue of freedom versus tyranny that we are all supposed to be on board with,” he added.

Mela Wu at the Wake Up to CCP Threat seminar in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 8, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Mela Wu, president of the Mount Hope Chinese Association, told The Epoch Times that the community response to the past three seminars has been strong and that she planned to host the fourth in Warwick soon.

Many members of the association came to the United States to escape persecution by the Chinese regime. They not only host seminars to bring awareness of the regime to the American people but also participate in local charitable works such as delivering food to seniors.

Middletown City Council President Miguel Rodrigues told The Epoch Times after attending the seminar, “It is important to see what’s going on with China, and I’m glad to see the community come together.”