FLUSHING, NEW YORK—On the streets of Flushing on Sunday the first edition of an eight-page tabloid appeared called the People Voice Times—a paper focused on denigrating Falun Gong.
From the identity information printed in the newspaper, it is unclear who publishes the newspaper, who funds it, or where its office is. An ad for donations for the paper published on page five claims that the paper is backed by an unspecified non-profit organization. However, the P.O. box specified for donations is not rented, according to an employee from the Western Union office where the box is located. If mail is sent to an unrented box, it will be returned to the sender.
The paper contains testimonials from several discredited “anti-cult” experts, as well as numerous untrue statements, such as the claim recently used by Chinese Communist Party agitators saying that Falun Gong has been interfering with the Sichuan earthquake relief donation effort. It is remarkably similar to a variety of propaganda published by the Chinese Communist regime.
A different address on the masthead of the paper turned out to be a P.O. box held at a different company, this time registered in the name of People Voice Times. This reporter called the contact number on the masthead, asking about visiting the office. The man on the other end, who refused to identify himself, said that the office was closed on Sundays, discouraging this reporter from going there. When queried about office hours, he said to call ahead or send a fax, but refused the offer of a personal meeting. The conversation ended when this reporter explained that she was at the address at that time, and saw only a P.O. box there. Several employees from other businesses in the building expressed that they had never seen that newspaper or its staff on the premises.
The contact email for the newspaper is on a .cn domain, meaning that it is administered in Mainland China and subject to Chinese Communist Party control and censorship.
This reporter also briefly interviewed a man on the street giving out the papers. The man wore a shirt bearing slogans attacking Falun Gong. He said he worked for the paper, and “his friend” was the publisher. He insisted that a genuine office existed at the location listed on the masthead, and refused further conversation when confronted with research on the addresses listed in the paper. He also didn’t answer why the paper was soliciting donations to a P.O box to which the paper has no access.
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