Not even tiny indie film festivals are safe from the long-reaching arm of the Chinese Communist Party. <\/p>\n
On Monday, The New York Times reported that Chinese director Zhu Rikun had to cancel the NYC-based IndieChina Film Festival after the CCP harassed participants and their families (particularly members in China) over the inclusion of films that Beijing had never approved.<\/p>\n
The director himself was willing to take some heat over the festival, but when any other filmmakers, panel moderators and a volunteer pulled out, and a few admitted they or their families had been bullied by Chinese police, Zhu opted to shutter the event.<\/p>\n
The jackboots won: There will be no unapproved speech about China on President Xi Jinping\u2019s watch \u2014 not even on American soil. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that Xi\u2019s thought police moved against art the CCP hadn\u2019t OK\u2019d \u2014 Chinese authorities strong-armed Zhu\u2019s previous project, the Beijing Independent Film Festival, into nonexistence in 2014.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s beyond chilling that the CCP could so effectively squash speech in New York City, thuggishly controlling what US-based independent thinkers can say and watch.<\/p>\n
The small festival was mostly funded by Zhu; he expected perhaps 70 people at each screening.<\/p>\n
Alarm bells should be sounding from City Hall to Capitol Hill and the White House: Xi\u2019s bullyboys are increasingly bold about meddling in American business.<\/p>\n
In August, the Times broke a story about a ring of Chinese agents working through a network of at least 53 organizations fronting as \u201chometown associations\u201d to sabotage the careers of politicians in New York<\/a> who met with Taiwanese leaders or criticized the CCP. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet opinions and commentary from our columnists\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Back in 2023, two Chinese foreign agents were arrested <\/a>for running a \u201csecret police station\u201d in Manhattan to help the CPP track down and target dissidents living in the United States. <\/p>\n Chinese spies have been caught in the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a>, in pro-democracy activist circles<\/a> and in a New Jersey sushi joint<\/a>.<\/p>\n