Montgomery Mayor Cecilia Xie Birge is running for Somerset County Freeholder, but neither her current gig nor the one she's running for are her first shots at political activism. Cecilia was born in China and ... well, I'll let her tell you.
Cecilia Xie Birge was born in China at the height of the Cultural Revolution and spent part of her childhood in Chinese labor camps where her Western-educated parents were sent. As a student in Beijing, she participated in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and came to America the following year on a full scholarship to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.
That's a pretty good pedigree, demanding democracy in a terrible dictatorship like China. Cecilia wants to bring that dedication and work to Somerset County, as well.
But China apparently is still pissed off at Cecilia:
From family and friends in China, she has learned the government has blocked access to her website, www.birgegroup.com.
China's internet censors, "clearly have targeted me as a person," Birge said. "It's disappointing and puzzling. What does a county campaign have to do with the Olympics?"
While odd and ridiculous, the situation "shows the extent to which the Chinese government will go to present its, and only its, image to the world," said Sophie Richardson, the Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.
Do you want to piss off China? Please help Cecilia and her running mate North Plainfield Councilman Doug Singleterry by giving them $5, $10, $15 or $2000 on their website today! |
