Philadelphia Plans Controversial CCP Flag Raising Amid Protest

Philadelphia is scheduled to raise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flag outside City Hall on September 30 in an event organized by the Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Pennsylvania United Chinese Coalition as part of a cultural exchange aimed at improving the CCP's reputation in the U.S. This move has sparked significant controversy and backlash, with numerous letters urging Mayor Cherelle Parker to cancel the ceremony. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the CCP, criticized the event, stating that raising the CCP flag symbolizes support for a regime responsible for human rights abuses, including genocide against Uyghur Muslims and the production of fentanyl affecting millions of Americans. Human rights activist Rushan Abbas, founder of the Campaign for Uyghurs, also called on the mayor to cancel the ceremony, citing the CCP's severe human rights violations such as mass surveillance, forced labor, and repression of minorities. Abbas shared a personal story about her sister's imprisonment in China for peaceful advocacy, emphasizing that the flag represents a totalitarian regime rather than cultural unity. Critics warn that the flag-raising could serve as CCP propaganda and undermine American values of freedom and justice, particularly in a city symbolic of those principles.