“With your help,
the truth will be told.“
Help a #MeToo victim and her daughter to win their case against the abuser
What I’ve experienced isn’t what any woman should ever go through. First there was the violence of non-consensual sex forced on me, followed by lies and denial. Then, rare moments of hope, followed by setbacks tinged with revenge from a father who won’t acknowledge his child’s existence. This child is my daughter. For 20 years I’ve hidden the nightmare involving her origin by my silence, even though my daughter’s father is a public figure.
With your help, the truth of our experience will be told. When it is, I hope justice will prevail. This is why I’m emerging from the shadows, not only for me, but also，more importantly, for my daughter.
1. THE EVENT LEADING TO CHARLOTTE’S CONCEPTION
On the day or the day after Mar. 16, 2000, I was assigned to conduct an interview with Wei in my official capacity as a reporter of Singtao Daily, L.A.. Wei was in Los Angeles to testify on a hearing held by USCIRF.
On the late afternoon of that day, as arranged through phone call, I met Wei at the lobby of the hotel he was staying (the hotel was located in downtown Los Angeles, and I used to remember the name of the hotel until I received clinical depression treatment in 2013, as the anti-depression drug caused noticeable memory loss). Soon after we met, several other attendees of the above-mentioned event (see above link) came to join us briefly to say hi. Among them I remember at least there were Mr. Harry Wu and Mr. Erping Zhang. So my impression is they were all staying in the same hotel. The others left soon, leaving us for the interview.
After about 20-minutes of continuous interruption and loud background noises, Wei suggested moving the interview from the lobby to his hotel room where it would be quieter. The interview was being recorded, so a quieter environment was greatly appreciated. So I followed. In his room, our interview was interrupted once by a hotel room phone call from VOA reporter Haitao. Wei answered Haitao’s questions on Taiwan’s ongoing Presidential election.
As I was about to leave after the interview, Wei said there would be a welcome banquet for him organized by the local Chinese community and he asked me if I could join him so that we could continue the talk. I offered to drive him to the banquet but said I would have to leave early to go back to my office to finish the assignment before the deadline of today.
Wei was interested in my Jeep Wrangler, and asked me to let him drive it. So we changed seats. Soon after we hit the road, Wei mentioned he actually had no driver licence yet. I was scared and asked him to stop. He was unmoved, teasing me about my being “timid and overcautious” instead. At the banquet, I interviewed several Chinese community leaders before saying goodbye and left for my office in Alhambra.
At around 11:00 pm, or before the time of assignment deadline, I received a phone call to the extension number on my desk. To my surprise it was from Wei. He asked me to bring a copy of what I wrote to him on my way home if convenient. It was convenient, since I would pass the hotel on my way home. And I admired Wei so much that I agreed to his request unsuspectedly. When I arrived, his room was full of the smell of alcohol and cigarettes. He asked me to sit on the only sofa which was close to bed. I said I had to go but it happened very quickly. He pushed me onto the bed. I was sexually assaulted.
After he got up he said I should go with him to New York and be his assistant. I said no. We have never met each other again.
I didn’t keep a copy of the interview story I wrote on Wei, which was published on the next day’s Singtao Daily (L.A.) but I believe the archive of it can be tracked down at Los Angeles city or county library (currently closed due to Covid-19 pandemic.) I also have former colleagues who may help recall the interview arrangement of that day.
2. BIRTH
On December of 2000, Charlotte was born within my marriage to Mr. Zhang in California.
3. RUINED MARRIAGE AND CAREER
On April 5, 2001 I filed a Marriage Dissolution/Divorce lawsuit. This case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courts in Los Angeles, California. (However, since Zhang soon relocated back to China, and because of an error in legal procedure, the divorce didn’t become final until 4 years later.)
In early 2002, I separated from Zhang and moved from Los Angeles to Hong Kong to look for a job, bringing 1-year old Charlotte with me and raising her alone ever since.
Feb. 21, 2006, I divorced Zhang, taking full custody of Charlotte.
4. WEI KNEW HE HAD A CHILD FROM EARLY ON
In 2012 and also in 2013 When I was going through a career crisis challenging my job as an editor, my ex-colleague Beifeng contacted Wei from New York to inform Wei that he has a then 11-year old daughter. (Beifeng was not aware of the initial circumstances that led to my pregnancy, only that Wei was the father.) Contact was attempted first by phone from New York, then in person in Washington DC. Beifeng voluntarily offered a lock of Charlotte’s hair as possible DNA proof. Beifeng then reported back to me that Wei reacted indifferently and didn’t seem very interested in Charlotte at all.
5. RUINING MY MENTAL HEALTH
In Feb. 2013, Hearing from my ex-colleague, Beifeng, that Wei “didn’t care” that he had fathered the child, I began to seek and receive clinical depression treatment from Dr. Nip Wai, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong. I found myself unable to cope with the stress of single parenting and the residual effects of the sexual assault. As such, I lost the steady income I and Charlotte so desperately needed.
6. SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE
In Aug. 2018, rumor of Wei neglecting his child was first brought up by Beifeng from New York in public on social media. Beifeng’s act, unauthorized by me, found me totally unprepared to cope with the awkward situation of my well-kept private life becoming publicized. In an effort to keep my daughter’s conception a private matter, I initiated my first contact with Wei after the past 18 years, first through Mr. P, a mutual friend in New York and then through direct phone call. Unaware that I was calling from Hong Kong, Wei offered to meet me in Washington DC, and that he would pick me up at the bus station.
7. I DISCLOSED RAPE INCIDENT TO MUTUAL FRIEND
Prior to this, I had chosen not to disclose the rape incident to anyone other than my ex-husband and a close female friend. However, in response to Wei’s suggestion of a possible relationship, I shared some of the details of the assault for the first time with our mutual friend Mr. P. On Aug. 16, 2018, I explained to Mr. P, “What Wei did to me was ‘rape.’ Until now, I have told no one, for telling won’t result in anything good for my daughter.”
8. WEI REQUESTS PATERNITY TEST
On Aug. 23, 2018, in the midst of the rumor of Wei’s illegitimate daughter going viral, Wei passed a message through our mutual friend, Mr. P, requesting a DNA test in an effort to prove or disprove his paternity, despite the fact that a DNA sample had previously been offered (a lock of Charlotte’s hair) to him but he responded with disinterest.
9. WEI DESIGNATES POINT OF CONTACT
On Sept. 5, 2018,I received unsolicited letter* from Mr. B, a high profile former government official in Washington DC, selected by Wei as his principal point of contact regarding this matter. Included with the letter via Fedex was a “23andme” DNA test kit with instructions to return the kit directly to Mr. B. I followed the instructions.
10. WEI’S DNA SAMPLE REPORTEDLY CONTAMINATED
On Sept. 21, 2018, An email from Mr. B says the DNA sample that Wei submitted was “contaminated” and that the lab sent a replacement kit to Wei. This time, according to Mr. B, “…I oversaw the collection process in person and I am mailing the kit to the lab this morning.”
11. DNA REPORTEDLY A MATCH- WEI IS THE FATHER
On Oct. 4, 2018, I received email* from Mr. B stating empirical DNA test results match conclusively that Wei is Charlotte’s biological father. The email also stated that Mr. B “…met with him (Wei) this evening, showed him the charts, and he acknowledged the results and was very happy about it. He said to tell you that he will be in touch with you directly, soon.” However, contrary to the promise in a signed letter, the test results have been sealed and never given to me.
12. A CHANGE OF TUNE
Oct. 14, 2018, message from Wei passed by Mr. P: “Ask her to take it easy. If she has problems, she may arrange for the child to come to the United States to look for me.”
13. ASKING WEI TO FULFILL PROMISE AND SUPPORT CHILD
Oct. 16, 2018, and repeatedly, I directly called, and passed emails through Mr. P and Mr. B, asking Wei to discuss child support. (Note: In my first phone call made from Hong Kong to Wei after the 18 years, he asked me to come to DC and he even offered to pick me up personally. I declined. In his first several email messages via Mr. B, he also tried to talk me into coming to join him. I had always declined and, since then, he began to withdraw and deny things he promised. However, I did immediately agree to let Charlotte join him. I even tried to persuade Charlotte to do so but Charlotte said, at her age 17, she had doubts about Wei and didn’t feel safe to join him. That was way before Charlotte got to know the nature of my relationship with Wei as a victim of sexual assault and that she was the result of the sexual assault; Charlotte smelled something fishy even before I did, as she raised doubts about Wei’s honesty and asked me to insist on obtaining the DNA test results when we were informed of their existence (“I am afraid you will need it, Mom”). In one of my email messages I told Wei that Charlotte had doubts about him and was reluctant to join him at least this quickly at this time. This provoked a defensive posture from Wei in all his responses, thereafter.
14. PROMISING TO PAY TUITION
Oct. 29, 2018, Wei’s reply through Mr. B: “I will pay Charlotte’s tuition, no matter where she goes to school. No need for you to worry.”
15. REPEATEDLY PROMISING TO PAY TUITION
Nov. 14, 2018, Wei’s reply through Mr. B: ”I’ve repeatedly said I was poor. But I will pay my daughter’s tuition.”
16. CHARLOTTE LOST COLLEGE OFFER
May 2, 2019, Charlotte received an admission offer from Durham University of UK. I sent Wei a message through Mr. P, asking Wei to pay Charlotte’s first installment of college tuition fee. Again, he turned it down with excuses.
17. WEI FOUND ANOTHER EXCUSE
May 3, 2019, Wei passed a message through Mr. P, in reply to my asking him to fulfill his promise to pay tuition: “unable to afford unless she comes to register as a MD resident by this August and wait to be eligible to go to college on welfare next year. Or else, come to have a mandatory test in order to receive benefits…The house is still not sold to this date. Not trying to make a so-called excuse, but a country house is difficult to get sold. People are moving to urban areas.”
18. WE CAME TO FILE THE CASE
July 16, 2019, after Charlotte missed college admission from Durham U., we arrived at Dulles Airport.
19. CASE FILED
July 31-Aug 1, case initially filed with DC Superior Court under the category of “personal injury”.
20. CHARLOTTE BEGAN COLLEGE IN AUSTRALIA
In Sept. 2019, Charlotte received admission from UNSW of Australia. I accompanied Charlotte with borrowed money to go to Australia for her to begin college.
21. WEI LAUNCHED A RUTHLESS DEFAMATION CAMPAIGN
In Sept. 2019, Wei and his personal assistant and executive director of his Foundation began to openly smear Charlotte and me. They have accused Charlotte, Wei’s biological daughter, as a “fake” and me “the Chinese Communist Party’s agent attempting to discredit and destroy Wei”. They have been referring to our case as made-up.
22. CASE MOVED TO FEDERAL COURT
Nov. 6, 2019, several days before initial court hearing, the defendant’s lawyer filed notice of removal to the federal Court in D.C.; case re-categorized as “breach of contract”.
23. DEFAMATION CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Up-to-date, Wei and the executive director of Wei Jingsheng Foundation, using their power and personal influence, continued to spread vicious rumors about us, posting distorted photos of us, sharing our personal information online. This included posting Charlotte’s birth certificate, name-calling and bullying, intimidating and sullying our reputations.
Here are just a few examples of their expressions used against us: “scam con mother and daughter”, “ugly Southeast Asian girl ” and “poisonous snake Liu” whom “Wei had never met“.
Wei and the executive director of Wei Jingsheng Foundation not only created fake quotes attributed to me such as I “had a one-night stand” with Wei, but also falsely accused me of sending accusatory letters to various institutions and congress members which are nonexistent.
They called upon and mobilized people to collect any information on us, including my ex-husband; anything deemed to be useful for them to frame us and ruin our reputation.
Wei and his assistant also fabricated a conspiracy theory, referring to Charlotte, Wei’s own biological daughter, as a “genealogical weapon of the CCP”, directing public hatred to us. As a result, not only are our basic legal rights challenged but also our safety and security have been put at risk due to Wei’s slandering efforts.
23. COURT INITIAL SCHEDULING CONFERENCE
Set on Oct. 6, 2020 after Court-ordered mediation failed.
The weight of evidence is on our side, but we risk losing the lawsuit that we are filing against him if we cannot raise the money we need to hire an attorney who is as capable as his lawyer. What is at risk is Charlotte’s right to a quality education, along with the legally binding acknowledgement of his paternity.
With your assistance – with your contributions – we intend to hire an attorney who is experienced in sexual assault and paternity cases. We hope to win this #MeToo case and pursue respectful, equal and democratic human relationship in Chinese community.
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