Music student Wu Xiaolei’s sentence of nine months behind bars—he had threatened a woman for distributing flyers in support of freedom and democracy in China—may not prove to be the deterrent that people hope it will be.
“At the very least, they will be more restrained on the surface,” a Chinese student in the U.S. told Radio Free Asia, giving “only the nickname Eve for fear of reprisals.” Eve had encountered Little Pinks herself.
“There is no way to change the way they think,” she said, “but at least they won’t dare to go to such extreme lengths in public.” Maybe.
The “they” are fanatical young Chinese nationalists (called “Little Pinks” because of the color of a website associated with them).
Wu Xiaolei, 26, was handed the sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper, who also sentenced Wu to three years of supervised release.
Wu had stalked and threatened a Chinese woman who posted fliers in support of democracy in China with having her hands “chopped off” if she posted anything more.
The sentencing comes amid growing concern over China’s ongoing attempts to wield political influence on overseas university campuses, and over the sometimes violent lengths the “Little Pink” supporters of the Chinese Communist Party are willing to go to further Beijing’s interests on foreign soil.
The fliers, which were posted on the college campus, read: “Stand with Chinese People” as well as, “We Want Freedom” and “We Want Democracy.”
Wu also threatened the woman, saying that her actions had been reported to the state security police in China, who would be paying a visit to her family….
Wu also tried to find out where the victim was living and publicly posted the woman’s email address in the hopes that others would abuse the victim online, the court found.
FBI agent Jodi Cohen says that Wu’s conduct was a form of “weaponizing the authoritarian nature of the People’s Republic of China to threaten this woman,” an odd way of putting it. The PRC’s “authoritarian nature” is already weaponized. What thugs like Wu (shown above) are doing is helping China to export this weapon for use against Chinese nationals living outside of China.
Wu threatened more than his immediate victim. He told her that he had reported her promotion of democracy to officials in China, who would be talking with her family. And interrogating them? And browbeating them? And what else?
Prosecutors had asked for a three-year sentence. But for threatening to chop off his victim’s hands, etc., and for siccing the Chinese Communist Party on her folks back home, Wu is getting only nine months of confinement.
Wu will also have to endure “three years of supervised release,” a minor inconvenience, after which he will reportedly be deported. But he should be deported the moment he walks out of jail.
Wu’s punishment is better than nothing. But if and when other Little Pinks stalking people in the United States hear about it, most will probably be no less eager to serve as online and offline soldiers for the CCP. They’re fanatical to begin with, finding meaning in service to the Party and in screaming at its critics. They may well regard a penalty such as nine months in jail as a rite of passage and a badge of honor, proof of willingness to sacrifice for the Cause. Especially if this is how they were taught to regard such costs when they were being indoctrinated.
