The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Repression of Anti-China-Government Speech in San Francisco
From today's long and detailed Washington Post article by Shibani Mahtani, Meg Kelly, Cate Brown, Cate Cadell, Ellen Nakashima, and Chris Dehghanpoor, "How China extended its repression into an American city":
Chinese diplomats and pro-China diaspora groups based in the United States organized demonstrations in San Francisco that harassed and silenced protesters opposed to Beijing's policies, including through violence, during Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to the city in November, a six-month investigation by The Washington Post shows.
The events in San Francisco illustrate how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is willing to extend its intolerance of any dissent into the United States and target people exercising their First Amendment rights in an American city. It is part of a broader global pattern of China attempting to reach beyond its borders and suppress parts of its diaspora advocating against the CCP and ongoing rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and mainland China, the U.S. government and human rights groups say.
A number of diaspora group leaders have long-standing links to Beijing, according to Chinese state media, photos of high-level events and interviews, including with Chinese activists, former FBI officials and researchers. These include ties to the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Communist Party which uses non-state actors to further China's political goals overseas, blurring the line between civilians and state officials.
China has stepped up efforts to intimidate and spy on its diaspora, as Beijing's influence grows outside its borders. The Washington Post is investigating a global surge in campaigns of cross-border repression. The series' previous story examined Indian assassination plots in North America….
Some universities have also been going after anti-Chinese-government speech seemingly on their own, see this 2021 Emerson College incident (involving the China Kinda Sus sticker depicted above), this 2021 University of San Diego Law School incident, and this 2020 Fordham University incident. But this situation seems much more serious.
