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12/6-15 LEE SIU HIN: Sanctions A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy - December 2022 National Speaking Tour
"Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy" U.S. national book launch and speaking tour
Lee Siu Hin China-US Solidarity Network 李小轩 - 中美民间交流协会
12/6: Philadelphia, PA
Our first stop, the event held at the church basement, it was cold and rainy outside, but there were still about 20 people had participated. The book editor Sara Flounders and I attend and spoke at the event, it was very exciting and the audience was very enthusiastic. During the Q&A session, the main questions include: why should we oppose sanctions against Russia and U.S. sanctions against other countries? Why we still need to organize boycott against Israel’s persecution of Palestine? How do we understand the relationship between China’s current epidemic prevention policy and the so-called anti-lockdown demonstrations? What’s the relations between sanctions and color revolutions? At the end of the meeting, I invite everyone to participate in the filming of my latest documentary "Voice of Xinjiang" and "Vaccines and Sanctions": write down your message on vaccines, epidemic prevention, and sanctions on a paper for video shutouts. Many people had participated and I gave them a pin of Chairman Mao from China, as a solidarity gift.
New York International Action Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1DLKmKmW0M
Since the COVID-19 epidemic three years ago, Lee Siu Hin form the China-U.S. Solidarity Network made a special trip to New York from China to participate in the national speaking tour to release their new book "Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy". On December 17th, a rainy day in New York. Lee went to visit his old friend and editor of the book Sara Flounders, at the International Action Center (IAC) on West 24th Street in the center of New York City. This is a well-known social justice center.
Volunteers came here today to help mailing for the end-of-year IAC fundraising appeal to the members.
I invite the activists to send video solidarity message for our documentary to China, their loud voice opposition to U.S. sanctions, and social justice.
12/7: Bronx, NY Hostos Community College https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTw7zQSSzSY
12/7 "Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy" book reading event at Hostos Community College at Bronx, NY; the poorest neighbor in the City, also quickly gentrified by real estate corporations.
Sara Flounders and I were invited to speak for the event; the local speakers are mostly young people of color and immigrants, very interesting speech with great food.
Thanks Sara for recording my speech on camera, and Lauren from the Hostos Community College to organize this event.
12/10: National Webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ro7VTvOc8
Sanctions Kill: a book, a webinar, a movement Several authors of the new book, “Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy,” discussed the destructive effect of sanctions on over 40 countries in a webinar on Dec. 10. More than 1,000 people registered for the webinar.
Sara Flounders, contributing editor in Workers World Newspaper, organizer with the International Action Center and co-editor of the book, has visited many of the most vulnerable countries that have been devastated by sanctions: Iraq, Iran, Gaza in occupied Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
She said sanctions were the most brutal form of war. Countries lacked basic antibiotics and essential medicines, so that diarrhea or a broken bone was often a death sentence. There was no way to process clean water or pay teachers or medical staff.
Cuba has been heavily sanctioned by the imperialists for 60 years, yet they have supplied more doctors and medical staff to Africa than the World Health Organization. Flounders reported that Cuba had developed its own vaccines, but because of the sanctions, it took a worldwide movement to send enough syringes to immunize its own population.
Lee Siu Hin from the China-U.S. Solidarity Network created a video, “Vaccine and Sanctions,” based on the Sanctions Kill book. He is showing the video throughout China and played a segment during the webinar. The video contains material from “Capitalism on a Ventilator: the impact of COVID-19 in China and the U.S.,” a book he co-authored.
Ajamu Baraka of the Black Alliance for Peace spoke about small developing nations like Cuba and Nicaragua. The U.S. calls them threats to U.S. security in order to justify the use of sanctions, not because they will invade, but because they are an example of commitment to human rights, housing, medical care and clean water.
Other authors who spoke on the webinar were Rick Sterling from the Task Force on the Americas, who said sanctions are against international law, and thousands of people in Venezuela and other countries have died as a result; Judy Bello of UNAC and Syria Support Movement, who spoke on U.S. sanctions causing millions of refugees in the Axis of Resistance of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon; Erica Jung from Nodutdol Korean Community Development, who explained the dual impact of U.S. and U.N. sanctions; Carlos Martinez from the International Manifesto Group and Friends of China, who discussed the U.S./NATO-instigated war in Ukraine; and Ann Garrison, with Pacifica radio and the Black Agenda Report, who described the impact of sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea.
As Martin Luther King Jr. so correctly reminded us: “The U.S. is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.” Since WWII, the U.S. has initiated more than 60 military interventions in foreign countries. The U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine brings the U.S. in direct confrontation with a major nuclear power, as does its provocation against China over Taiwan.
It is extremely important that we build a strong, unified antiwar movement that can break through the media propaganda and censorship and end U.S. military aggression around the world.
The Sanctions Kill campaign is both analysis of and organizing against U.S.-imposed sanctions, a brutal form of warfare imposed on a third of civilian populations around the world. The Sanctions Kill website, sanctionskill.org, offers concrete resources for schools and activists. The Sanctions Kill book is sold at iacenter.org/sanctions-book.
A week of action to “Stop U.S. Wars” is being called for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week, Jan 13-22, 2023, in cities across the U.S. and around the world. Start organizing now and send planned actions to be listed at unacpeace.org.
12/13: New York, NY The People's Forum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPIH5cbO9OM
12/13: "Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy" our new book’s cross country speaking tour, at New York City’s The People's Forum on West 37th Street in downtown Manhattan, is part of the Sanctions Kill campaign, about 20-30 people attended the event. The center is a well-known venue for New York-area progressive activities for organizing their events. It has its own 1804 Publishing House (they have cooperated with John Ross to publish a book about economic development in China), a library coffeehouse, and a large space to hold different meetings and events. Speakers include me, Sara Flounders, Korean American progressive organizer, African human rights organizations, and a Latino teacher from New York City. Discussions include: United States sanctions against Asian, African and Latin American countries, and how they deal with the U.S. imperialism and threat, and shown part of my documentary "Vaccine and Sanctions". The event was very meaningful, the audience was very enthusiastic, at the end of the event I invite some audiences to participate in my documentary interview and filming.
12/14: Buffalo, NY The Burning Books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ8DJrxXOW4
12/14: "Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy" national book launching cross country speaking tour at Buffalo NY's Burning Books, (Burning Books, It implies that the U.S. government's censorship, who wants to ban U.S. progressive books).
As part of the Sanctionskill campaign, about 20 people attended the event.
This is famous local working class anarchists book store, includes different Marx and left-wing ideologies, anti-racism, anti-war, immigrant rights; environmental, economic and social justice, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights etc.
The place is small, but they have very interesting design; such as their movable bookshelves, which can be moved to the wall to make a space when holding an event, so as to free up a space for about 20 people meeting.
Tonight's event was facilitated by Arjae from Starbucks Workers United, he's one of the Starbucks employee who successfully fight for forming their union.
Speakers include me and Judy Bello, an anti-war activist since the 60's. We discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia, the Middle East and China, and how these countries had responded.
We also play the clips from my documentaries "Vaccine and Sanctions" and "Voice of Xinjiang". The event was very good and the audience was very enthusiastic. At the end, everyone held a "No Sanctions" sign and took a group photo together.
Interview with Starbucks Workers United organizer Arjae
Interview with Starbucks Workers United organizer Arjae Buffalo, NY: In 2021 and 2022, over 6,500 workers at over 250 corporate-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize with Starbucks Workers United at the multinational coffeehouse chain, starting with a store in Buffalo, New York, for the first time since the 1980s in an ongoing unionization effort. About a third of Starbucks' Chilean workforce is unionized, as well as 450 workers in New Zealand and one store in Canada. The young workers achieved an historical labor victory in U.S. recent history!
12/15: Berkeley, CA East Bay Media Center
12/15: "Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy" new book release national speaking tour, at it’s last stop to East Bay Media Center at Berkeley, CA. The tour was part of the Sanctionskill campaign; say NO to US sanctions; about a dozen people attended the event.
I would like to thank Lotus Fong, the Chinese-American activist from San Francisco, and the event organizers Judy Greenspan and Dave Welsh for their support and hospitality.
National Immigrant Solidarity Network http://www.
On-line Donation: https://afgj.salsalabs.org/
Send check pay to: NISN/AFGJ National Immigrant Solidarity Network P.O. Box 751 South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751
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