Chinese music student faces US trial for alleged threats to activist

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Chinese music student went on trial on Monday on U.S. charges that he harassed an activist who posted fliers at the Berklee College of Music in Boston supporting democracy in China and threatened to report her activities to Chinese law enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter told a federal jury in Boston that Xiaolei Wu, 25, scared the activist, referred to only as Zooey in court, by making threats online to chop off her hands and report her to the Chinese government because of her “reactionary posters.”

“She was afraid for herself, and she was afraid for her family, who was back in China,” Porter said in her opening statement to a 12-person jury.

The trial comes as U.S. and Western authorities continue to warn that China’s government has increasingly exerted pressure to silence its critics abroad.

Lemminary,

Inb4 the token “Westerners are so brainwashed with propaganda” guy who shows up in every other thread about China or Russia

FunkyMonk,

bruh one of the tankies really argued that chinese authority is the only path for earth.

stoly,

They told me that I am racist for supporting Ukraine because Russia, you see, has decided to re-exert its Asian identity. Oh, and totally check out these two articles that prove what they are saying. Oh, and I’m a terrible person for not agreeing.

FunkyMonk,

yeah the antileftist arguement for the longest time is 'HEY COMRADE? You hate ethnocentricity.... Well try OUR flavor!"

stoly, (edited )

I was also shocked to find that tankies think that anyone who talks about human impacts on the Earth are ecofacists. Weird people.

girlfreddy,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

Reminds me of “manditory conformity for the sake of unity” Texas seems to be supporting.

CassavaKing,

Reading the heading, I wasn’t sure if it was a Chinese music student, or a Chinese-music student

stoly,

“He came here to learn guitar, not to shill for the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

Actually I think he came to do both.

magnetosphere,
magnetosphere avatar

I’m usually much more merciful, but this guy pisses me off. He threatened to cripple a woman for life, and ruin the lives of her family members. I don’t care if the argument was “immature” and the guy is “misguided”. Those were major threats, and the fear he created is very real.

Being a hardcore nationalist is not a defense. Send this wannabe CCP agent back to the country he loves so much.

stoly,

AFTER some time in US jail.

Machinist3359,

Nationalism is poison, no matter the nation.

RubberElectrons,
@RubberElectrons@lemmy.world avatar

Yup, same. He probably won’t get punished at home per se, but we certainly don’t need to endorse him with our prestigious education system.

This was a genuinely bad action which deserves real consequences.

afraid_of_zombies,

Stupid kid is ruining his life for a government that doesn’t care about him. And might be responsible for a family being hurt.

PhlubbaDubba,

So if they get convicted do they just get sent back? That feels like the easy fix.

stoly,

They would be deported once their sentence completes.

ABCDE,

Why would that happen?

originalfrozenbanana,

Certainly possible to have your immigration status revoked because of a conviction, but there are plenty of immigrants in US prisons.

PhlubbaDubba,

Yeah but this person’s a student though? They’re not technically here to immigrate, they’re here on a temporary basis to study.

originalfrozenbanana,

Anyone who isn’t a US citizen has an immigration status. You can be on a variety of visas, and as a student they are probably on a J1 or H1 visa. Other visas exist for a wide variety of purposes, and they all dictate how you can stay in the US: how long, under what conditions, etc.

You can also have a green card, which signifies that you are a permanent resident - you no longer need a visa but your immigration status can still be revoked (albeit with much more difficulty).

There are also people with no immigration status and no legal right to stay in the US. These people won’t always be instantly deported but they are subject to it at any time.

Finally if you’re a US citizen you have no immigration status since you are not an immigrant. Citizenship can’t be revoked except in exceedingly rare cases (like treason).

DocMcStuffin,
@DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world avatar

I dunno. I think it might depend on if he gets a sentence of more than probation. He may have to serve time first then get deported.

MamboGator,
@MamboGator@lemmy.world avatar

And he’ll never realize the irony of how lucky he is that he’s going through the Western justice system instead of China’s.

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

yeah ours is bad as fuck but…parts of you get sold over there. Didn’t most of that bodies exhibit turn out to be Chinese prisoners?

Lemminary,

Parts of people have always been sold for research and it’s no different than any other reagent. Some people even turned this into a successful business by the turn of the 50s by selling and patenting their tissues with remarkable abilities like immunity to polio. This wouldn’t surprise anyone in the medical sciences.

tsonfeir,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

Wow I saw that.

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

Just looked it up again. Lot’s of accusations and basically all the Bodies people have said is ‘nope totally donated from this one medical school’ but that school can provide absolutely no documentation that they are actually donated willingly.

tsonfeir,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

Well, the school might have…. But where did they get the bodies from (ominous music!)

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

No seriously that’s the crux of this. Thats where the paper trail seems to run cold it seems. They definitely came from this school and the school is just like ‘fuck you they were donated’

tsonfeir,
@tsonfeir@lemm.ee avatar

It could actually be A HIPAA violation to disclose their identity.

Garbanzo,

No, it couldn’t.

DragonTypeWyvern,

That’s also an appropriate response if they’re telling the truth

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

Under normal circumstances? But people donating their body for things like this and wanting it to be left a total secret? You would think the people who donated their bodies to be part of this display would want it to be known that they did this

Lemminary,

A lot of people do donate their body “for scientific use” which can mean anything from a single necropsy, to being left to decompose in the sun for criminalistics research, to being filletted into thin strips to show at the museum. I would do that if I could, no need to thank me when I’m dead.

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

True but supposedly a lot of people wanted to be part of this if I remember right. That was a big thing about it.

Lemminary,

They’re still made anonymous regardless, according to the official website. If anybody is looking for recognition for their donation, they’re looking at the wrong place. Lol

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

Which leads back to this being a suspicious. Just no proof anywhere at all that these are people who donated their body to science.

SuperApples,
@SuperApples@lemmy.world avatar

There’s enough provable atrocities being committed by the Chinese govt to worry about the conspiracy theories as well. Especially when a lot of the body and organ harvest theories are spread by a California mansion dwelling homophobic cult leader who can totally levitate he just doesn’t have to prove it to you!

thisbenzingring,

its a little early to be that stoned dude, maybe don’t wake and bake

SuperApples,
@SuperApples@lemmy.world avatar

By age eight, he had acquired “the superb great law with supernatural powers,” which was supposed to include invisibility, levitation, etc. Li Hongzhi

thisbenzingring,

I was just being a jackass, sorry. Thanks for the link wozers!

SuperApples,
@SuperApples@lemmy.world avatar

Not at all, we’re all just being jackassed :).

Here’s a fun video essay on the craziness that is Falun gong and the Epoch Times if you want to go further down the rabbit hole: youtu.be/ncr62WQnIHA?si=XsIoYofM9wJK7Pwk

Deceptichum,
Deceptichum avatar

Ah Chinese are aware of the dangers of being invited for tea. They’d probably be in trouble if they didn’t harass this person.

pineapplelover,

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