Congress members, activists decry assaults against anti-China protesters during San Francisco summit
SAN FRANCISCO– A man protesting against China’s ruling Communist Party at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday shared details of an attack by pro-China supporters, saying he was left unconscious and that police should take action against his attackers.
Kaiyu Zhang, who moved from Shanghai to Los Angeles in March, told reporters that he and two other protesters were attacked by a group of young men wearing red headbands or armbands on November 17 after leaving a protest at the city’s international airport when the leaders left. the city.
His comments came a day after bipartisan leaders of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China condemned efforts to silence critics of the Chinese Communist Party, known as the CCP. Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon cited videos of protests at the APEC summit showing human rights activists being harassed and attacked by counter-protesters.
“We, the Presidents of the CECC, strongly condemn the reported violence against individuals exercising their rights to freedom of speech and assembly in the United States. We urge the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office to review these reports and pursue justice where appropriate,” they said in a statement Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with President Joe Biden and other foreign leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference, which took over downtown San Francisco for a week and drew foreign dignitaries, journalists and many protesters.
Cellphone videos taken by Zhang show young men, most dressed in all black and wearing red baseball caps, headbands or scarves, following closely behind him, and at least one of them swearing at him. Zhang shouted profanities about Xi before being attacked by the men, still recording as he was then knocked to the ground.
Zhang, 51, said he and a 74-year-old man were injured and he lost consciousness. Both had to be hospitalized and he said he was still recovering from injuries to his head and left eye.
“How could this happen in America? This should only happen in China,” Zhang said.
Zhang was at South San Francisco police headquarters to tell investigators what he believes is the name of one of his attackers. Police had previously said an assault and battery investigation was underway, but reported no arrests.
The Congressional-Executive Commission said the group Human Rights in China alleged that counter-protesters may have ties to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. An email seeking comment from the consulate was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Opposition groups and dissidents have long alleged that the Chinese government is behind incidents of violence and online or physical intimidation targeting critics living abroad. Chinese officials have denied any involvement, but when Xi travels, local pro-Beijing groups gather at large events to show a strong welcome and drown out protesters.
In San Francisco, demonstrators appeared outside the Chinese consulate and the main APEC conference center during APEC with messages against Xi and the Chinese government. But tall metal fences were installed to separate the crowds from Xi’s motorcade, and Chinese and American flags were used to shield them from view. Pro-Beijing groups surrounded protesters with large Chinese flags and used loudspeakers to drown out their chants.
Several skirmishes broke out and people were pushed to the ground, with police officers sometimes intervening.
San Francisco police received several complaints of violence during APEC week and took action to make arrests when officers witnessed attacks or were warned of attacks in time, Sergeant Kathryn Winters said. She said the ministry continues to investigate complaints following the summit, but did not specifically respond to whether it was investigating allegations of intimidation or mistreatment of people protesting against the Chinese government.
U.S. law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned in recent years about what they say are aggressive and criminal efforts by Beijing to stalk, harass and intimidate political dissidents in the U.S. — a pattern of behavior known as transnational repression.
The Justice Department has filed multiple cases against agents it says worked on behalf of a Chinese government, including by trying to derail the congressional campaign of a little-known New York candidate who decades earlier was a Tiananmen student leader. square had been. protests in Beijing. In one particularly notable case, a private investigator in New York was convicted last June after prosecutors said he was hired to try to bully an expatriate Chinese dissident living quietly in New Jersey into returning home.
Last year, relations between Britain and China fell to a new low after a Hong Kong protester said he was dragged into the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, and beaten by some consulate staff during a peaceful protest for democracy.
The incident drew widespread criticism from British lawmakers, and China later recalled six officials from Britain, including the head of the Manchester consulate, before British police had a chance to question them.
___
Associated Press writers Didi Tang and Eric Tucker in Washington, Sylvia Hui in London and Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report.