Philadelphia officials allowed the flag of China and its communist regime to fly over City Hall on Tuesday, a decision that sparked outrage.
Sept. 30 marked the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong, who served as its first chairman until his death in 1976.
The ceremony is organized under Philadelphia’s “Honors Diversity Flag Raising Program,” administered through the Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs.
But U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) raised the alarm.
Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to Philadelphia’s Democratic Mayor Cherelle Parker asking her not to allow the CCP’s red five-star flag to fly over the City of Brotherly Love.
“The city where America declared independence and that all people have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, should not raise the flag of an authoritarian regime represented by the Chinese Communist Party, which denies those freedoms to its own people,” Moolenaar wrote.
“The Five-Star Red Flag, embodying the totalitarian government led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), represents a regime that is persecuting spiritual people of all faiths, including the genocide of Uyghur Muslims. It is a government that actively subsidizes the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, which has killed or harmed millions of Americans. It is a Communist Party-State that is diametrically opposed to American values and working to undermine our interests worldwide. The city government of Philadelphia should cancel the raising of the national flag of a foreign adversary country.”
The Campaign for Uyghurs (a Uyghur rights advocacy group) also sent a letter urging cancellation, citing the severe abuses committed under the regime, including mass detention and persecution of Uyghurs, and making the point that flying its flag is not simply a cultural gesture.
But a prominent member of the Philadelphia Asian community, who asked not to be identified, said Chinese Americans view the flag, not as representing communism but as a broader symbol of the Chinese people, similar to Irish Americans and the Irish flag or Italian Americans and the Italian flag.
“It doesn’t mean they support communism,” this person said. “It doesn’t mean they support the policies of the Chinese government.”
Opposition to the CCP flag over City Hall was bipartisan.
“Let’s stop being politically correct here and say no to raising a flag over our city here that oppresses people, throws Christians in jails and takes organs out of people in prison and persecutes minorities,” said state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), an Army veteran and staunch Republican.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who was born in Philadelphia in 1976, the bicentennial year, and grew up in Bucks County, also objected.
“I don’t get it,” Khanna told Fox News. “The only flag that should be going up there is the American flag. And the Communist Party, as you know, did so much harm. The Great Leap Forward led to famine. The Cultural Revolution led to huge violations of human rights.”
Yuichi Kakuntani, China and Indo-Pacific advisor for the Heritage Foundation, called the situation “astounding.”
“It’s because these sorts of leftist-controlled, progressive-controlled cities like Philadelphia, unfortunately, don’t know where their true loyalties and allegiances are, right?” said Yakuntani on OAN. “If you go to China, you will never see an American flag being flown at a Chinese city hall. But that’s the situation we have in American cities.”
Philadelphia officials defended the city’s decision.
“The flag-raising ceremony was approved through the Philadelphia Honors Diversity Flag Raising Program, established in 2018 to celebrate the cultural heritage and contributions of our city’s immigrant communities,” Philadelphia Solicitor Renee Garcia told DVJournal. “These ceremonies are not official endorsements of any foreign government, but rather, they are expressions of cultural pride by Philadelphia residents.”
She also said the decision was guided by legal concerns.
“In accordance with First Amendment precedent, the City of Philadelphia’s flag-raising policy applies objective, viewpoint-neutral criteria. Specifically, a foreign nation’s flag may be raised if the country maintains a Consulate or Embassy in the United States or is recognized by the U.S. Department of State. The People’s Republic of China meets both criteria,” she said.