Korean Americans Rip Chinese Policy

Korean American businessman Do-Woo Kim was 12 years old in 1948 when his family left behind everything it had and escaped from North Korea for freedom in the South.

Today, the Los Angeles resident is a picture of economic success.

“Our family has received so many blessings in America,” he said. “We have four pastors and five PhDs and many businesspeople in the family.”

But, for Kim, like thousands of immigrants with roots in North Korea, the thought of fellow Koreans living in a Stalinist state remains painful.

On Friday, Kim and three dozen senior citizens -- all originally from the North -- rallied in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles in a downpour and demanded that China stop sending North Korean refugees back to their homeland.

Carrying yellow and red banners reading “Stop Repatriation of North Korean Refugees in China” in English, Korean and Chinese, the protesters also urged China to behave like a country “worthy” of holding the 2008 Summer Olympics.

“How can China host the Olympics when it has no regard for human rights?” Kim shouted toward the locked front door of the consulate.

“How can you send back to North Korea the sorriest people in the world who risked their lives to escape starvation?” yelled another protester.

Samuel Yi, separated from his sister in 1950 during the Korean War, said it was unconscionable for Chinese officials to repatriate refugees, knowing they face death or long imprisonment.

Protesters also accused South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, of capitulating to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Chae-Jin Lee, a professor of international relations at Claremont McKenna College, said the situation is complex.

“The South Korean government does not want to take a stand on this issue mainly because it does not want to upset the North Korean leadership,” said Lee, author of “A Troubled Peace: U.S. Policy and the Two Koreas.”

The political scientist said South Korea does not want to risk its good relationship with China, a major trade partner, by complaining about the treatment of North Korean refugees and defectors.

Repeated attempts to reach local consul officials for comment were unsuccessful.