The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been implementing cross-border suppression, which has been condemned by the international community. However, ordinary people may find it difficult to fully understand their tactics and may not know how to respond when faced with such situations. Last Saturday (25th), the Chinese Democratic Party held a rally at the Ding Pangzi Democracy Square in Los Angeles to expose the CCP’s cross-border persecution and provide strategies for the public on how to deal with it.
At the end of 2021, Zheng Gang, who came to the U.S., used to be a civil engineer and surveyor in China, experienced the CCP’s long-arm jurisdiction firsthand. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., he joined a Chinese church where he was asked to provide personal information such as name, address, phone number, and Chinese ID number.
“I didn’t understand at the time, so I just wrote everything down.” Zheng Gang recalled how during a dinner gathering, a fellow church member came over to shake his hand, gripping it tightly and with a smile, but in a menacing tone, said, “Don’t think that you can’t be taken care of by 110 even overseas!”
“I was stunned at that moment,” Zheng Gang said. “I thought to myself, ‘Is this kind of thing still happening in the U.S.?” By the time he tried to confront the situation, the person had already left. He later realized that this was a form of cross-border suppression and intimidation.
Cross-border suppression by the CCP is most commonly seen in the U.S. In mid-February this year, the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Subcommittee held a hearing specifically on “cross-border suppression,” paying special attention to the issue. According to the human rights organization Freedom House, from 2014 to 2022, there have been 253 known cases of cross-border suppression implemented by the CCP regime, accounting for thirty percent of the recorded total; for Chinese students in the U.S., the CCP poses the biggest threat to their personal safety.
The rally that day brought together dozens of Chinese individuals, with several pictures on display. One image listed 17 Chinese individuals indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022 for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act; in the first half of 2023, another 49 Chinese individuals were accused. The data from these indictments showed an increased crackdown by the Justice Department on those carrying out CCP’s cross-border suppression missions in the U.S.
Chen Chuangchuang, Executive Chairman of the Chinese Democratic Party, pointed out in an interview that in the thirty-plus years since the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, the CCP has been continuously carrying out cross-border suppression. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has largely turned a blind eye to this until the end of President Trump’s administration when more active measures were taken.
According to Chen Chuangchuang, the CCP’s methods of cross-border persecution are diverse. The most common one is directly threatening the families of dissidents in China. The next is direct threats in the U.S., including death threats. For instance, during his congressional campaign, Chinese democracy activist Xiong Yan in New York faced covert harassment by CCP secret police, including threats to “break his legs.”
“We are pleased to see that in recent years, the U.S. has arrested dozens of individuals sent by the CCP to the U.S.,” Chen Chuangchuang said, mentioning both informants and official agents like Xu Yanjun of the Jiangsu Province State Security Department. Xu Yanjun was extradited from Belgium to the U.S. and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
During the APEC conference in San Francisco in November last year, Chen Chuangchuang experienced the CCP’s cross-border suppression firsthand. While participating in a protest, he was sprayed with pepper spray by a member of a pro-CCP overseas group (whose name has been identified), and many others were also attacked. In March this year, the windows of Chen Chuangchuang’s office at the Ding Pangzi Democracy Square were smashed.
“The U.S. knows that the CCP is very bold here, but they still don’t realize how bold they are,” Chen Chuangchuang believes that one reason for this is that few victims of CCP’s cross-border persecution report to the U.S. government. Chen Chuangchuang hopes that Chinese individuals who are victims of such persecution can bravely come forward and report to the U.S. government.
The images displayed that day taught overseas Chinese how to identify and respond to cross-border suppression.
The main targets of CCP’s cross-border suppression include political and human rights activists, dissenters, journalists, political opponents, religious or ethnic minority groups, among others. The forms of suppression range from surveillance, harassment, cyber-attacks, direct physical assaults, attempted kidnappings, coercing victims to return to China, threatening or detaining their relatives in China, freezing financial assets, spreading false information online, etc.
“If you encounter this kind of cross-border suppression in the U.S., report it promptly to the U.S. government,” Chen Chuangchuang explained. He cited examples of informing the FBI of which police officers visited mainland China family members, any threats made, etc. “This information is crucial for the FBI to gather and investigate those national security threats against you, including their WeChat IDs, phone numbers, names, and positions,” all of which are valuable in holding the CCP accountable in the future.
Despite experiencing firsthand the CCP’s cross-border persecution, Zheng Gang said: “I’m not afraid of them at all.” After chanting anti-CCP slogans along with other protesters that day, he emphasized the importance of standing up against the regime, stating, “It is crucial that someone speaks out against them; otherwise, our future generations will be enslaved by the CCP.”
“When future generations pass by our graves after we’re gone, what will they do?” Zheng Gang pondered, “Will they offer a bouquet of flowers, or will they angrily spit at our graves, blaming us for not fighting for their future?”◇