State Sen. Mastriano Warns of CCP’s Transnational Repression, Opposes China Flag-Raising in Philadelphia
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Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Republican, has voiced strong concern over the Chinese Communist Party’s growing campaign of transnational repression and criticized a Chinese flag-raising ceremony to be held in front of Philadelphia City Hall later in September.
During a visit to the Magnolia Women’s Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 13, Mastriano said the repression campaign of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has extended beyond China’s borders.
“At the first level in China itself, we watch them with a very repressive attitude toward Christians, Falun Gong, and other groups like Muslims,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”The communist system is, you worship the government and not God.
“Now we see the second level, where communist China is oppressing people outside of their country—that’s a big problem.
“If there are covert agencies acting as legal agencies or secret police, they need to be removed immediately from my country.”
The CCP’s tactics have also targeted Falun Gong practitioners abroad. Reports show that Chinese consulates have pressured local officials to cancel Falun Gong-related events and that individuals have received harassing phone calls or threats after speaking publicly about the group’s persecution in China, which began in 1999 and continues to this day.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. First introduced to the public in China in 1992, the practice quickly spread by word of mouth to reach an estimated 70 million to 100 million practitioners by 1999, when the CCP’s top leadership launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice. Since then, untold numbers of practitioners have suffered arbitrary detention, forced labor, torture, and even death by forced organ harvesting.
Opposition to China’s Flag-Raising Ceremony
The Pennsylvania United Chinese Coalition plans to hold a flag-raising ceremony commemorating the founding of communist China—established under Mao Zedong on Oct. 1, 1949—at Philadelphia City Hall on the morning of Sept. 30. Those invited to the event include Philadelphia government officials, representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department, and Chinese students from Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, and Drexel University.Mastriano reacted with surprise and disapproval when asked about the event.
“I didn’t know that, and what a stupid, terrible idea,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”What that flag represents!”
He said that such symbolism carries deep historical pain.
“Raising a red flag over Philadelphia with a star in the corner is meaningless, forgetting the Cultural Revolution and then almost 100 million people killed in the various persecutions over the years when the communists took over, when Chiang Kai-shek fled in 1949,” Mastriano said.
Mastriano said he believes that the ceremony conveys a troubling message to Chinese Americans who escaped persecution in China.
“It’s an insult to Americans of Chinese heritage who fled that persecuted system to come to our country for freedom,” he said.
Mastriano said that for many Chinese Americans, communist China’s flag represents a regime that persecuted their families and imprisoned loved ones.
His wife, Rebbie Mastriano, echoed the concern, calling on faith communities to take action.
A Call for Vigilance
Doug Mastriano said Pennsylvania legislators have tools at their disposal.“There are things we can do in the Senate,“ he said. ”We can issue resolutions or pass bills to prohibit communist activities in our commonwealth.”
Mastriano also warned about broader CCP influence efforts.
“We see these cultural exchanges, dancers, and other things really being a front, and communist, Marxist, Maoist ideas behind the scenes,“ he said, noting cases of espionage and influence operations tied to CCP-linked individuals. ”We have to be really careful about who we allow in the country.”
Mastriano connected today’s issues to 20th-century history. He recalled how the CCP rose to power after World War II, contrasting Chiang Kai-shek’s fight against the Japanese occupation with Mao’s later consolidation of power.
“After the nationalists were recovering from defeating the Japanese, then [Mao] comes out as some hero,“ Mastriano said. ”The guy is a fraud.”
Global Pattern of Repression
Numerous human rights organizations and governments around the world, including the U.S. government, have explicitly recognized the CCP’s transnational repression as part of a broader global pattern of authoritarian overreach that threatens sovereignty, human rights, and democratic norms.Freedom House describes the CCP as “the most comprehensive, sophisticated, and globally far-reaching authoritarian influence apparatus.” From targeting Uyghur Muslims with threats against their relatives, to pressuring Chinese students abroad to toe the Party line, to waging disinformation campaigns aimed at shaping Western narratives, the CCP’s activities reflect a broad strategy of control.
Mastriano said he wanted to send a clear message to those who are complicit in the CCP’s transnational repression campaign.
“If you’re here on behalf of communist China espionage and spying, you’re gone,“ he said. ”Get out of my country.”
