In What Sense Is John Choe Morally Distinguishable from a Neo-Nazi?

"In What Sense Is John Choe Morally Distinguishable from a Neo-Nazi?"
By Joshua Stanton
Excerpted From: One Free Korea, August 7th, 2009

John Choe, personifying the appellation “useful idiot” as pictured here, won’t shift U.S. foreign policy if he’s elected to represent a district in Queens in the New York City Council. Technically, Choe is correct when he evades questions about his sympathies with North Korea’s regime and demurs,

“I’m not running for secretary of state—I’m running to represent the 20th district in the City Council,” Choe said.

That is true in the same sense that David Duke ran for governor of Louisiana, not Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. When Duke ran, he accused his opponents of unfairly raising his previous leadership of Ku Klu Klan and Neo-Nazi organizations, which he claimed were a part of his past (though Duke continued to operate an organization called the National Association for the Advancement of White People).

I make this comparison because John Choe, who has the endorsement of the Queens Democratic Party, is the co-founder of a group called Nodutdol, which, in rhetoric indistinguishable from North Korea’s, says:

The danger of war is real - during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, U.S. pre-emptive strikes were threatened over the issue of North Korea’s potentially having nuclear weapons. Currently, the U.S. has been reconfiguring its presence in South Korea, increasing the size and capabilities of bases like Camp Humphreys in Pyongtaek, south of Seoul, while the U.S., South Korea, and Japan have stepped up joint military exercises to “maintain regional stability”. The most recent just ended this March, as 26,000 U.S. forces joined the R.O.K. forces in an enormous war game, “Key Resolve/ Foal Eagle”, exercises aimed at North Korea, who condemned the actions as provocative. Then, North Korea launched a satellite in early April, which the U.S., South Korea and Japan denounced as provocative. [Nodutdol]

Choe has not repudiated Nodutdol, and Nodutdol has not repudiated Choe, whom it describes as a “former member.” Since at least 2003, when Choe was still associated with Nodutdol, Nodutdol has sponsored political pilgrimages to North Korea:

The mission of DEEP is to bring activists and socially concerned Korean Americans to the northern part of our homeland, in the only such program in this country. Because of the biased and negative portrayal of north Korea by the US government and mainstream media, most of us [even Koreans who are already committed to social justice], are poorly informed about the DPRK. This program helps to demystify the DPRK, and build person to person understanding. To organize in this collective, socialist society. Each year, DEEP organizes a fundraising drive to support the people of north Korea and uses the proceeds to bring medical supplies, books, and other materials to the DPRK. [Nodutdol]

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Article Links John Liu, John Choe and Margaret Chin to Chinese Communist Party

Excerpted from "Communist Ties Become Issue in NYC Politics"
From: The New American, August 6, 2009
by William F. Jasper

In his vita provided for the Reynolds Foundation, John Choe gives a few more details about his Marxist-Leninist pedigree, proudly noting his volunteering with the Venceremos Brigade (VB), one of the oldest and most notorious of communist fronts. (He does not say whether he went with the Brigadistas to help chop sugar cane in Fidel Castro's workers' paradise, one of the VB's favorite romantic pastimes.) He also notes that he was named by George Soros' Open Society Institute as one of their NYC community fellows. In fact, John Choe has been a radical "community activist" for the past 20 years — his entire adult life — with the last eight years consumed as chief of staff for City Councilman John Liu.

Liu, as noted in yesterday's column, is attempting to move up the political food chain, seeking the Democratic spot in the September primary for city comptroller. He is now also coming under fire for his slavish support for the communist powers-that-be in Beijing — and their agents here in the United States. In response to the above-mentioned story on Choe by David Seifman in the New York Post, a writer going by the name "Laoxiong" posted a series of entries providing details of John Liu's purported activities in the PRC and the United States favoring the Beijing party line. The alarming "Laoxiong" reports can be read here (scroll down below the Seifman column).

Both John Liu and John Choe have worked closely with Margaret Chin, a longtime spokesman for the Communist Workers Party (CWP), a militant Maoist sect and one of the most violent revolutionary groups in the country. Armed CWP cadres have engaged in street fighting with police and have acted as enforcement thugs for the PRC, breaking up peaceful pro-Taiwan rallies and beating up Chinese-Americans (and others) who protest Beijing policies and visits to the United States by PRC leaders. Chin is a candidate for New York City's 1st Council District.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

John Choe: "Lobbyist for Communist N. Korea & China Worming Way into Big Apple Politics

"Lobbyist for Communist N. Korea & China Worming Way into Big Apple Politics"

by William F. Jasper

From: New American, August 5, 2009

With North Korea defiantly slinging missiles in our direction, now might not seem the most propitious time for a politico tied to this member of the "axis of evil" to make a run for elective political office in the United States. Nevertheless, John Choe, one of the most outspoken boosters of communist dictator Kim Jong Il's brutal regime, is running for New York City Council's 20th District seat, representing Flushing, Queens.

Choe, who is campaigning to become the city's first Korean-American council member, is widely reported to be leading in the crowded six-way, September 15 Democratic primary for this ethnically diverse district. According to CityHallNews.com, the district is "roughly 10 percent Korean-American, 20 percent Chinese-American, 15 percent Hispanic and 37 percent Caucasian."

Although Choe was late to enter the running, he was boosted into the lead by several factors: 1) the endorsement of his former boss, John Liu, who has stepped down from the 20th District Council seat to run for city comptroller; 2) the endorsement of U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley, who serves as the Queens County Democratic Party chairman; 3) the endorsement of several unions, including the powerful and militant Service Employees International Union (SIEU) Local 1199, which controls the jobs of (and collects dues from, and feeds political propaganda to) 350,000 workers in the homecare, hospital, and nursing-home industries; 4) the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats, which bills itself as "the National Voice of LGBT [Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgendered] Democrats"; 5) favorable media coverage; and; 6) tireless campaign workers from the communist Workers World Party (WWP) and other communist groups that support China and North Korea.

However, anti-communist Koreans and Chinese in the district (of which there are many) are making their voices heard, in spite of efforts by much of the media to ignore or play down Choe's close ties to North Korea and Communist China. The weblog "John Choe: A Dangerous Man" has posted many stories and links from the Workers World newspaper and other sources, including audio recordings of anti-U.S., pro-North Korea speeches by Choe at WWP-sponsored events (which have since been removed from the WWP website, apparently to protect Choe). A report on John Choe's speech to the communist faithful at a WWP conference on May 13-14, 2006 in New York City, as reported by Workers World, can be seen here. The name of the conference was revealing in and of itself: "Preparing for the Rebirth of the Global Struggle for Socialism."

In his speech, Choe used classic communist rhetoric, calling on the assembled radical activists to "bring the war against [U.S.] imperialism to the belly of the beast," and affectionately referred to fellow activist Yoomi Jeong as "our comrade," who was then down in Washington, D.C. organizing protests led by a coalition of communist groups. "I urge all of you to join us in this very important struggle," said Choe. "Myself as an immigrant and a byproduct of U.S. imperialism I hope you can help me bring down imperialism," he continued. An internal search on the Workers World site yields more articles featuring John Choe, which can be accessed here — at least until the comrades take these links down. The New York Post belatedly reported on Choe's radical views and association with the WWP in an August 2 story by David Seifman.

Since most Americans are not familiar with the Workers World Party, it is important to note that this is one of the most hard-core of the many communist parties in the United States. A split-off of the Trotskite Socialist Workers Party, the WWP is unique among communist organizations in that it did not take sides with either Beijing or Moscow during the so-called Sino-Soviet split, but supported all communist regimes and maintained relations with them. The WWP cadres have provided much of the activist leadership for A.N.S.W.E.R. and the International Action Center (IAC), two of the leading Marxist-Leninist groups in the forefront of the "anti-war" movement. Now even many on the far Left acknowledge that A.N.S.W.E.R. and IAC are mere fronts for the WWP, and have distanced themselves from those groups. While vociferously denouncing "imperialism" and "oppression" by the United States and other Western countries, the WWP has supported, and continues to support, the most tyrannical police-states in the world. The most obvious case in point is North Korea, which Freedom House regularly lists in its annual survey of human rights among "The Worst of the Worst" dictatorships.

According to Freedom House, North Korea (DPRK, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) typifies the worst of despotism, where "state control over daily life is pervasive and wide-ranging, independent organizations and political opposition are banned or suppressed, and fear of retribution for independent thought and action is part of daily life." Of course, that doesn't begin to describe the true horror of living under the iron fist of Pyongyang. For personal, first-hand accounts of the unbelievably inhuman conditions and torture inflicted on the hundreds of thousands of hapless victims of Jong Kim Il's brutal gulags, see here, here, and here.

Despite John Liu's Denial, John Choe Admits To Post He Attacked U.S. "Imperialism"

"Korean Conflict - Council Hopeful: Pull Troops"
by David Seifman
From The New York Post, July 26, 2009

A COUNCIL candidate hoping to become the city's first Korean-American legislator is calling for the removal of American troops from South Korea, and admits he made a speech three years ago denouncing US "imperialism."

The comments of John Choe, one of six candidates trying to succeed Councilman John Liu in Flushing, were reported in the Workers World newspaper.

"Korea is at the front line of the liberation struggles against imperialism," Choe was quoted as telling a conference here in May 2006 on "Preparing for the Rebirth of the Global Struggle for Socialism."

"From the very beginning, when the US intervened and occupied Korea, the Korean people have been resisting and struggling. And I urge all of you here to help us in our dark days trying to win back freedom and independence from the United States and its military."

Choe allies claim he's the victim of a smear campaign and say he never uttered those words.
But Choe admitted that he pretty much did.

"I may have said something like that," he said.

"Korea, I believe like any other country, should be given the right to self-determination and independence and not have the military of other countries on their soil," he told The Post.
Choe's position poses something of a problem for Liu and the Queens Democratic Party, which has endorsed him.

Liu, now running for comptroller, insisted Choe, his former chief of staff, was being stigmatized by "McCarthyism."

"There's no way he made those comments, no way," declared Liu, not aware of Choe's admission.

Speaking At Socialist Conference, John Choe Says "I Hope You Can Help Me Bring Down [U.S.] Imperialism" (Listen to Audio of Choe's Speech)

Speaking at a May 13-14, 2006 conference entitled "Preparing for the Rebirth of the Global Struggle for Socialism" in New York City, John Choe praised protests his group Nodutol organized against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by President Bush and is supported by President Obama.

Describing the Washington D.C. protests, which Choe stated would “bring the war against imperialism to the belly of the beast”, Choe struck a personal note: “Our comrade, Yoomi Jeong is down in D.C. right now organizing a week of protests… I urge all of you to join us in this very important struggle. Myself as an immigrant and a byproduct of U.S. imperialism I hope you can help me bring down imperialism through this event and many other events in the future.”

Choe, who referred to the audience as his "brothers and sisters", also slammed the American film industry, "Finally, the FTA [Free Trade Agreement] would also destroy the social fabric of South Korea, opening up Korean culture to the mercies of the monstrosity we call Hollywood.”

To read a partial transcript of Choe's remarks and LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE AUDIO of John Choe's address, click on this link to the Workers World Party website.

Choe's Organization Nodutdol Features Pro-Palestinian, Anti-Israel Group on its Website

In February 2009, Nodutol posted a favorable profile on its website of Al-Awda-NY, a pro-Palestinian group, which contends that Palestinians “were exiled by Zionist Terror Gangs in the early 1900’s” and “the formation of the Zionist Israeli State in 1948”. According to Nodutol, Al-Awda-NY advocates “to ensure that the right of Palestinians to return to their homes would not be negotiated or liquidated by unrepresentative parties, the US and the Israeli state.”

Nodutol’s anti-Israel advocacy is consistent with the official policies of the North Korean government. North Korea does not recognize Israel as a state, instead recognizing the Palestinian National Authority, and Israeli citizens who are Jewish are barred from visiting North Korea.

In a January 2009 announcement on its website, Nodutol encouraged its members to sign a petition against Israel’s military action in Gaza, exclaiming, “Act now before it’s too late! Protest against the Israel genocide against Palestinians! Stop U.S. Support to Israel!”

John Choe Addresses American Communist Party Forum, Attacks U.S. Imperialism

On January 6th, 2006, John Choe appeared as a guest speaker at the Workers World Party forum in New York City. The World Workers Party is a self-proclaimed Communist Party founded in America that, according to its description on its website, is “based on the great revolutionary concepts of Marx and Lenin” and believes that the “key to transforming the world is here [in the United States], in the ‘belly of the beast’”.

Together with Yoomi Jeong, who Choe has referred to as his "comrade" (click here to hear Choe's own words), Choe gave a speak entitled "Korea and the Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism".

To read about Choe and Jeong's speech in the Workers World Party's newspaper, click here. WorkersWorld.org has since removed the audio and video of Choe's address, though there are still links to them on their website here.