CFU’s Letter Urges Philadelphia to Cancel the PRC Flag-Raising Ceremony

  • September 29, 2025

1725 I Street N.W. Suite 300
Washington. D.C. 20006
Rushan@campaignforuyghurs.org

September 26th, 2025

The Honorable Cherelle L. Parker
Mayor of Philadelphia
City Hall, Office of the Mayor
Philadelphia, PA

Dear Mayor Parker,

I write to you with deep concern regarding the planned flag-raising ceremony for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on September 30, 2025.

As an advocate for human rights and the Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, I have dedicated my life to amplifying the voices of millions silenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This mission is deeply personal. My sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, is a retired medical doctor and a deeply compassionate woman. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in China solely because of my peaceful advocacy within the United States. She is now 63 years old and remains unjustly detained as part of Beijing’s policy of collective punishment against the families of dissidents.

The red flag of Communist China is not a symbol of culture or unity. It is the banner of a totalitarian regime that the U.S. government and numerous parliaments have determined is committing genocide. Under this flag, the CCP has built an extensive system of mass surveillance, separated millions of children from their families, sterilized women, erased religion, and targeted ethnic and faith communities, including Uyghurs, Christians, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, and practitioners of Falun Gong. It imprisons innocent people like my sister, fuels a fentanyl crisis that has killed millions of Americans, and spends billions spreading propaganda and infiltrating civic institutions abroad.

Raising this flag in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution and a city that stands as a symbol of liberty and justice, would normalize and legitimize these atrocities. It is a slap in the face to victims of CCP oppression and sends a message that China can reach them even in the United States.

As the sister of one of the millions of people in camps, as an American citizen who has served this country, and as someone who believes deeply in the values this city represents, I urge you to cancel this ceremony. Doing so would not be an act against the Chinese people, many of whom long for freedom and justice, but a clear statement that Philadelphia will not be used as a platform for authoritarian propaganda.

Stand with the American people, with victims of tyranny, and with the principles of freedom born in your city. History will remember where you stood.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

With respect,


Rushan Abbas
Executive Director, Campaign for Uyghurs

Picture of Jacob

editor-muyesser

Campaign for Uyghurs

We defend the human rights of Uyghur people and the free world by exposing and confronting the Chinese government's genocide, and empowering Uyghur women and youth in the diaspora.

Donate Now

READ MORE

Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production
Located in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.
‘This Has Been Delayed For Too Long’
Source: RFA Rushan Abbas, a former broadcaster for RFA’s Uyghur Service and the director of the U.S.-based Campaign for Uighurs exile group, recently testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington about rights violations in northwest China’s
Uyghurs in Exile Launch Campaign Calling on China to Release Video of Missing Family Members
Source: RFA More than a dozen ethnic Uyghurs living in exile have called on China to release video of family members held in political “re-education camps” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after Chinese state media published what it
Tough Curbs on Burials
Source: RFA HONG KONG—Ethnic minority Uyghurs from the far-west Chinese city of Urumqi say authorities attach strict conditions when they release the bodies of Uyghurs who die in custody. Hundreds of Uyghurs were detained as part of a broad crackdown
I’ve fought China’s slow-motion genocide of Uighur Muslims. Now, my family are victims.
Source: USA Today   The world is finally waking up to the ongoing and terrifying violations of human rights against the Uighurs — a Muslim minority in Northwest China. My own family is victim to these violations. As both an American citizen and
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference March 11, 2019 I would like to thank President Tsai’s comments and her for taking the time to be here out of her busy schedule. I can’t help but just
On Capitol Hill, persecuted Muslims unite to protect religious minorities’ rights
(RNS) — More than 125 members of the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect spent Monday (April 1) on Capitol Hill advocating for international religious freedom causes — particularly lending their voices on behalf of beleaguered Uighur Muslims. As part of its
As Countries Seek Trade With China, Imprisoned Uyghur Community Has Become “Collateral Damage”
China’s top trade negotiator is traveling to Washington this week as tension over trade intensifies between the two nations. President Trump is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Chinese imports after the U.S. accused China of

STAY
INFORMED

Add your name to our mailing list so we can keep you updated about upcoming events, speciality drives, new initiatives and more.