Bowing to political pressure, the Board of Supervisors
rejected a resolution expressing deep concerns about China's persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners.
Sponsoring Supervisor Chris Daly walked out in disgust after the 8-3 vote Monday.
"The facts are pretty simple," he said. "We're
not commending Falun Gong, we're denouncing human rights violations. I was
disappointed with a few of my colleagues who ducked doing the right thing and I
think they know it."
The bill's rejection may well have resulted from the
political weight of Rose Pak, director of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce,
who organizes a two-week trek to China every year with Mayor Willie Brown. She
was the first one at the podium during public comment.
"This board respects one of the most sophisticated
cities in the nation, if not the world," she said. "Are you prepared
to endorse a group that equates homosexuality with murder?"
Pak went on to compare the Falun Gong with cult leaders like
David Koresh, the infamous leader of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.
She badgered Supervisors Leland Yee and Gavin Newsom from
behind the gallery railing throughout the debate.
The rejection may also have resulted from the harsh words of
Wang Yunxiang, consul general of the People's Republic of China, who sent a
letter to the board saying that Falun Gong was a "cult against human
beings, society, science and religion."
Not only has Falun Gong disrupted family life, he said, it
has caused troubles in Chinese society. He said the human rights reports about
persecutions are unfounded.
"Not a single person has been killed or persecuted
because of Falun Gong," he said. "U.S.-China relations are improving.
Fighting against terrorists should be our common interest. This would not be
beneficial to both sides."
Close to 100 passionate supporters of Falun Gong -- and
opponents packed the Board of Supervisors Chambers and jumped into line to
speak during the public comment period.
One woman, who opposed the resolution, broke into tears as
she relayed that her younger sister died from tuberculosis, refusing medical
treatment because she believed in Falun Gong.
Alicia Zhao also broke into tears as she urged supervisors to
pass the resolution, saying that Chinese police put her in prison two years ago
during a trip to China because she had dinner with a Falun Gong practitioner.
A large crowd lingered outside of the board chambers
following the vote.
Sherry Zhang, a chemist speaking for the Falun Dafa
Information Center, was disappointed.
She and other Falun Gong practitioners from throughout the
Bay Area had gathered a petition with 40,000 signatures supporting their cause
and faxed hundreds of letters to members of the Board of Supervisors, urging
them to pass the resolution.
But in the end, supervisors decided that foreign policy was
best handled by Congress, not the city.