US lawmakers call for investigation into incident involving Chinese-speaking US customs officer at Chicago airport
CHICAGO—U.S. lawmakers are raising concerns and calling for an investigation into a U.S. customs officer who used Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hate propaganda in his official capacity against artists belonging to the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts.
“Espousing Chinese Communist Party propaganda, and coercion and intimidation as an official U.S. government action—that’s exceptional,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told The Epoch Times’ sister media NTD.
The incident, on March 11, involved a customs officer at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, who spoke Chinese with a mainland accent.
“They’re Falun Gong. They’re political. They’re illegal,” the customs officer told his nearby co-workers in English, as he screened Teresa Du, a tour manager with Shen Yun Performing Arts, which showcases “China before communism” in performances around the world.
Ms. Du is a natural-born U.S. citizen and all artists are either U.S. citizens or hold valid visas.
“This is an American citizen, espousing their First Amendment rights, coming back home to America, and essentially being intimidated by the federal government. That’s a whole different level,” Mr. Perry said.
The officer’s behavior concerned Mr. Perry so much that he wrote a letter to CBP on March 15, highlighting the “allegations of discrimination by a customs officer against U.S. citizens based on constitutionally protected religious beliefs” that he noted was “due to the agent’s apparent sympathies with the Chinese Communist Party.”
“If substantiated, this is a breathtaking and reprehensible violation of their constitutional rights,” he wrote. The phrase “they are illegal,” he said, raises “further severe concerns.”
“Is this officer working to assert Chinese policy through his official U.S. government position?” Mr. Perry stated.
Founded in New York in 2006 by Chinese artists who fled communist persecution, Shen Yun has been targeted by the Chinese Communist Party for nearly two decades.
Ms. Du, as well as many Shen Yun performers, practice Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese spiritual discipline that focuses on self-improvement through meditation and moral principles.
The customs officer spoke to Ms. Du in Chinese until she switched to English. He asked her: “Are you being sponsored by Falun Gong?” Ms. Du declined to answer.
By Eva Fu
