China’s Consular Corps in L.A. Now ‘Keeps Out of Sight’

Before the recent unrest and violence in China, there used to be lines of tourists and business representatives at the Chinese Consulate, seeking visas to travel in the People’s Republic.

Now the third-floor offices on Shatto Place in the Wilshire District seem quiet, with only two people on one recent morning standing at a window before a lone official. A take-a-number machine, such as those used in popular delicatessens, sat idle.

“We do our work as usual,” the official, Lee Yufeng, who described himself as the visa consul, said stoically.

At first, he said, visa applications were down “a little bit,” since May 20, when martial law was declared in Beijing. The office had issued more than 1,000 visas a month after opening with considerable fanfare 15 months ago.

But after disappearing for a few moments, Lee came back and adjusted his statement. “The number of applications is the same,” he said.

No one else at the consulate would discuss its activities. But local officials and members of the Chinese community say the once highly visible Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles seem to have disappeared in recent weeks.

“They’re low-profile now,” said Irvin Lai, a Chinese-American who said he became familiar with members of the delegation as national president of the Chinese-American Citizens Alliance. Before, he added, “they had a lot of receptions for Chinese-Americans, did a lot of entertaining, encouraging them to go visit their roots in China.”

These days, he said, “they keep out of sight.”

Bee Canterbury Lavery, the Los Angeles chief of protocol, said that before the unrest she had been in almost daily contact with Consul General Ma Yuzhen, whom she described as an outgoing and well-liked member of the local diplomatic community. In recent weeks, she said, “I haven’t seen him.”

Through a spokeswoman, Ma declined an interview because “this time is not convenient.”

Demonstrators have turned out in large numbers every recent weekend outside the gleaming white, five-story office building where the consulate is housed. But during the week it is quiet. On Thursday morning, for example, only two members of a local ashram were keeping a vigil on the sidewalk, and no one was there Friday.

Sunday afternoon, thousands more are expected, when members of what organizers call “hundreds of Chinese-American organizations” plan a 2 p.m. rally in MacArthur Park, followed by a march to the consulate.

So far, there have been no defections from the Los Angeles consulate, which reportedly has a staff of more than 30, in contrast to two from China’s San Francisco consulate. Stephen C. Chang, a reporter for the Chinese-language Young China Daily in Monterey Park, said he telephones the Los Angeles consulate daily to tell any staff members he can reach, “we have organizations to help in case you make up your mind to leave your government.”

Allegations of Harassment

But nowadays, he said, he often just reaches a tape-recording.

Harry J. Godfrey III, head of FBI counterintelligence in Los Angeles, said that in the last few weeks his office has been “vigorously pursuing allegations of harassment and intimidation” of Chinese nationals--including an estimated 3,000 students--living in the Los Angeles area.

According to Chang, several people have reported anonymous phone calls telling them not to criticize the Chinese government, or “your family in China will be in trouble.”

Several months ago, FBI and other military counterintelligence officials disclosed that Chinese espionage agents had surpassed the Soviets as the most active foreign spies in California. Godfrey declined comment this week on whether there had been a recent increase or decrease in Chinese intelligence activities.

‘Dramatic Presence’

The Chinese Consulate was one of the most active of the 68 consulates in Los Angeles, protocol chief Lavery said: “They have had a dramatic presence.”

According to Lavery and others, Consul General Ma, an experienced diplomat who speaks English, frequently gave speeches to local colleges and last month spoke before the monthly meeting of the city’s consular corps.

He was often seen at events staged by a variety of cultural or civic groups. In the last year, the consulate has shepherded more than 1,000 visiting Chinese delegations around Los Angeles. Two months ago, its officials accompanied Xan Xu, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, when he gave a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

“There’s a big difference before and after the massacre,” a Chinese native of Taiwan said, referring to the killings in Beijing’s Tian An Men Square earlier this month. Taiwan, which lost its diplomatic status with the United States once this country recognized China in 1978, maintains a Coordination Council that represents Taiwanese interests here.

Uphill Battle

Local members of the Chinese community, which numbers more than 200,000 throughout Southern California, say the mainland Chinese delegation has had to fight an uphill battle in Los Angeles because of both pro-Taiwan and strong anti-communist sentiments among many local Chinese.

“There are still a lot of hard feelings,” said Chinatown businessman David Lee, who has endured criticism for a decade because of his public support of China. Many believe that this contributed to the closing of his Chinatown restaurant, General Lee’s, three years ago for lack of business.

Lavery said of Ma: “I think he has made great strides in Los Angeles for overseas Chinese to understand China. I have to almost say that in the past (tense) because I thought I understood China.”

Los Angeles has a sister-city program with Canton, and Lavery, who serves on the board of the Los Angeles-Canton Sister City Assn., said this has been suspended since the massacre.

One Document Sent

The only official document the Chinese Consulate has sent the mayor’s office in recent weeks has been a copy of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement on its actions toward the Beijing students, she added.

Lavery telephoned Ma in the city’s behalf, she said. “I asked him to send a message to his government how deplorable this action was and how outraged those of us who considered ourselves friends of China . . . were. He listened to me very politely. Did he argue with me? No he did not.”

Times staff writer William Overend contributed to this article.