(Clearwisdom.net) On July 3, 2004, as the Independence Day Parade in New York's Chinatown ended, Liang Guanjun, Hua Junxiong, Huang Keqiang, Peter Wong, and other pro-Party Chinese community leaders received subpoenas from the New York State Superior Court, because they are suspected of pre-meditated assaults on Falun Gong practitioners on June 23, 2003.

Upholding Justice and Protecting Citizens' Basic Rights

According to practitioners Li Jun, Xu Kangang, and Li Li, who were targets of the attack, a group of Falun Gong practitioners were distributing literature outside the Yidong Restaurant in Chinatown on June 23, 2003. The practitioners hoped that Wang Yingfan, the Permanent Representative from China to the UN, would deliver their request for the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong. Liang Guanjun and other pro-Party leaders verbally abused, ganged up on, and beat the practitioners. The practitioners did not fight back. Some practitioners sustained injuries from the assault. Liang Guanjun shouted, "I beat you because you practice Falun Gong!" and "I'll beat you to death."

Practitioner Xu Kangang said, "The United States is a society based on the rule of law. The law protects people's right to peacefully protest and express their opinions. Our appeal outside the Yidong Restaurant was completely legitimate. In Mainland China the Constitution is ignored and human rights are trampled. Jiang's group of thugs has committed unforgivable crimes against innocent Falun Gong practitioners. They cannot escape justice and punishment according to the law. Liang Guanjun and other thugs ignored the law in New York's Chinatown, just as the persecutors ignore the law in China."

Falun Gong practitioner Eva said, "One day while I was distributing truth clarification flyers, a woman told me that many Chinese people in Chinatown are pleased that Liang Guanjun is being tried in court because Liang is a big bully in New York's Chinatown, backed by the Chinese Consulate."

Facts and the Law

Falun Gong practitioner Wei Lu, who was also present during the attack, said, "It is a fact that Liang Guanjun physically and verbally attacked Falun Gong practitioners. This case will expose his crimes." On June 23, 2003, Liang covered reporter Mei Chen's camera lens with his body and then claimed the reporter was hitting him with the camera. On July 3, 2004, Liang Guanjun threw a subpoena on the ground and then told the police the person who gave him the subpoena was pushing him. The police officer asked him some questions, picked up the subpoena and gave it to Liang Guanjun, saying, "This is for you! Hold onto it!" Liang Guanjun thought since he had the backing of the Chinese Consulate, he could do whatever he wanted, including violating the law.

Falun Gong practitioner Jian Fen said, "Liang Guanjun and other Pro-party leaders' attacks on Falun Gong practitioners on June 23, 2003 did not merely get the ear of the U.S. Congress; it prompted House Resolution 304, which condemns Jiang group's exporting the persecution onto U.S. soil." Falun Gong practitioners in New York also asked government officials to view a video taken at the scene of the crime, which shocked them. The officials wrote letters to related government agencies, asking for an investigation to be carried out.

The plaintiff's attorney, Lana Han, said, "The U.S. is a country ruled by law, and the law will not tolerate willful beatings. Verbally abuse and beating a group of strangers, merely because they have a different belief system, is a hate crime, which is very harmful for the development of a community. The law protects Falun Gong practitioners' rights in the U.S.A, and we cannot allow this unreasonable persecution to be exported to the U.S."

July 11, 2004