Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has called for an official investigation into an incident involving a Chinese-speaking U.S. customs officer who tried to use Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda to stop Shen Yun dancers from entering the United States.
"I demand an immediate investigation into this incident." Mr. Perry said, "If the allegations are founded, termination of said agent must occur promptly."
Ms. Du is a U.S.-born citizen and all artists are either U.S. citizens or hold valid visas.
"This is an American citizen, espousing their First Amendment rights, coming back home to America, and essentially being intimidated by the federal government. That's a whole different level," Mr. Perry told NTD.
“If substantiated, this is a breathtaking and reprehensible violation of their constitutional rights,” he wrote. The phrase “they are illegal,” he said, raises “further severe concerns.”
“Is this officer working to assert Chinese policy through his official U.S. government position?” Mr. Perry stated.
“You've got to wonder, who's watching the watchmen?" he said, referring to the customs officer. "How was this person vetted? How did they get to this position?”
He said immediate investigation is critical not in the least for protection of all U.S. citizens’ First Amendment rights.
“Perhaps as urgent is the need to ascertain and prevent officers with foreign sympathies from gaining and using an official position to assert their personal beliefs on others,” he said, adding that he expects findings of the investigation to be shared with Congress.