A WOMAN who said she is homeless and a victim of domestic abuse is hoping that the U.S. and CNMI governments would help her.
On Friday, she took off her shirt to stage a protest action across from the administration building on Capital Hill.
A responding police officer told her to put on a shirt or she would be detained for indecent exposure.
Peirong Zhou, a mother of three, told reporters that she migrated from China in hopes of a better life for her and her 10-year-old son. She said her two teenage children are still in China.
Zhou said she is married to a Palauan man residing in Kagman III, but was forced to seek other living arrangements after enduring abuse for which she sought a temporary restraining order on June 7, 2021.
She said she and her son then sought assistance from Guma Esperansa, a domestic violence shelter on Saipan, and were allowed to stay there for 60 days only.
At the shelter, Zhou alleged that she and her son were discriminated against, mistreated, and verbally abused because they were not locals.
Locals, she said, are allowed to stay at the shelter for more than 60 days, but non-locals like her, are given only 60 days.
She claims that Guma Esperansa personnel “hurt” her and her son, which, she added, was why she was protesting.
Variety was unable to get a comment from Guma Esperansa.
Zhou said she also sought help from the Department of Public Safety, but the police officers, she added, did not believe her.
“They want to help the shelter. They don’t help me…. Nobody deserves to be abused. Saipan, stop hating Chinese. Hate [the Chinese Communist Party]. Stop hating Asians,” she said.
She believes it was DPS that called the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which then told her that she would have to return to China.
“No way! I don’t like to go back to China… My English no good, but I’m still fighting. You know why I run away from China? Because I like U.S. I like freedom,” Zhou told reporters on Friday.
She wants Guma Esperansa and its officials to apologize to her and her son, and she is also seeking assistance from the U.S. government, adding that she would like to work to earn money to provide for her and her son.
She also wants DPS and ICE to explain their handling of her case.
The governor’s senior policy advisor Robert Hunter, in a separate interview on Friday, said Zhou visited the governor’s office on Thursday and Friday seeking assistance.
Hunter said she seemed distressed, but due to the language barrier, he had some difficulty fully understanding Zhou.
“I don’t want to misspeak on any piece of her case or misspeak on her exact story because I’m not sure if her English was good enough to understand every single detail of our discussion or not,” he said.
Hunter said no interpreter was present during his conversation with Zhou, and that she spoke English with the use of a translation device.
Based on his conversation with her, he added, Zhou “had a number of things that she was just not happy about… She had issues with the staff and was finally, I think, asked to leave. She then went seeking assistance elsewhere.”
At some point, she was picked up by ICE, Hunter said, and had her passport taken away, “then they let her go,” he added, quoting Zhou.
“She doesn’t have a home, and [the Division of Youth Services] came into custody of her son, and they have been taking care of him so that he’s not homeless. He’s in the youth shelter, I believe, and they’re taking him back and forth to school and making sure he has what he needs,” Hunter said.
He said he assured her that DYS is a good agency.
“She seemed very happy after that discussion with regard to the care her son is getting. She told me that she is able to talk to her son all the time,” he added.
Hunter said Zhou also told him that she had sought legal counsel from Micronesian Legal Services Corporation, and is awaiting a police report.
Hunter said he contacted DPS to follow up.
“Her report is not ready yet, but as soon as it’s ready, we will let her know. We will follow up for her and call her,” he added.
He said he also explained to Zhou that immigration cases are out of the CNMI government’s jurisdiction. “She looked alarmed when she learned that,” he added.
“One of the things that she wanted to accomplish by visiting us was that we could somehow pull ICE back, but we don’t have that authority. Her bigger issue is an immigration issue. It’s a little concerning that folks like her, probably coming in on tourist visas, primarily to protest China, get picked up then released, and they’re released without the ability to work. Unless they’re lucky to have good friends that are housing them, they’re released as homeless individuals who can’t work and earn a living. It seems like that’s a problem that needs to be fixed. Otherwise, keep them in your care so at least they are getting housing and food and their kids are receiving an education. In our case, of course, the system makes sure that the child is taken care of, just going to school and all of that…. But I don’t understand [why] you get picked up, you get your identification taken away, and then you get released into the community without any means — legally — to take care of yourself.”
Hunter offered to contact the shelter on Zhou’s behalf, but she declined the offer, saying she has a friend she can stay with.
The two exchanged contact information to keep in touch regarding Zhou’s complaints.
Hunter noted that Zhou repeatedly mentioned the Chinese Communist Party in their conversation.
“There was a political angle to a lot of her conversation,” he said, adding that his only concerns were assisting her with her other claims relating to her and her son’s well-being.
Peirong Zhou, a Chinese national who says she is homeless and is a victim of domestic abuse, is seeking assistance from the CNMI and federal governments.
Peirong Zhou, a Chinese national who says she is homeless and is a victim of domestic abuse.
