OAN’s Taylor Tinsley
2:05 PM – Thursday, November 30, 2023
Human rights groups and Congressional lawmakers are calling for San Francisco police to investigate assaults on anti-China protesters during the recent APEC Summit.
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On Wednesday, Kaiyu Zhang told reporters that he and a 74-year-old man were assaulted by a group of pro-CCP protesters outside of the San Francisco International Airport on November 17th.
“I remember someone just grabbed me from behind and then I remember I kind of lying down and all the people hitting me,” said Zhang.
The incident occurred as anti-China and pro-Beijing demonstrators clashed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Golden City for the APEC Summit.
“How could this happen in America? This thing’s supposed to only happen in China. Now we see it happening in America,” Zhang said. “It’s ridiculous. And if America ends up like a second China, then which country can I go to escape?”
On Tuesday, Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who are the chair and co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission, expressed their outrage from videos showing harassment and assault against human rights activists.
“We, the Chairs of the CECC, strongly condemn the reported violence perpetrated against individuals exercising their rights of freedom of expression and assembly in the United States. We urge San Francisco County police to review these reports and pursue justice as appropriate.”
San Francisco police continue to investigate reports of violence during the demonstration, but it’s unclear whether they’ll specifically look into allegations of assault on anti-China protesters.
One human rights organization accused counter-protesters of being alleged ties to the Chinese consulate, raising concerns of official Chinese support for such attacks.
The Justice Department has charged several individuals for working with the People’s Republic of China.
In October of 2023, two people were arrested and 13 others, including members of the PRC security and intelligence apparatus, were charged in separate cases for alleged efforts to exert influence on the U.S. for the benefit of the PRC government.
The defendants were charged “with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States” and are accused of “conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort.”
Additionally, two U.S. Navy service members were arrested for transmitting military information to China in August of last year.
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By: OAN
