Pastor uses Olympics to 'bother the Chinese government over human rights abuses'
The last time Eddie Perez Romero was seen in public, Aug. 7, he vandalized two upscale hotel rooms in Beijing as part of what the longtime pastor of a La Puente church described as a protest against China's human rights abuses.
Then Romero is believed to have gone into hiding in a rural area outside Beijing -- a self-imposed exile that the decorated Vietnam War veteran plans to end Sunday by turning himself in to Chinese authorities after the Olympic flame is extinguished.
In the meantime, the 58-year-old part-time college philosophy professor continues to send brief digital messages -- he identifies himself as "imagadfly" -- that call upon Beijing to end human rights abuses, free political prisoners and grant religious freedom to Christians.
"He's there to be a nuisance, to literally bother the Chinese government over its human rights abuses," said Sarah Yetter, who last saw her father in July before he boarded a flight at LAX. "He's literally saying that 'I'm not big, but I'm going to bother you.' "
Many in Romero's circle knew he was going to China to mount a protest, including Steve Runnebohm, dean of humanities and social sciences at Mt. San Antonio College, where Romero has taught for nearly a decade.
"He didn't say what he intended to do," Runnebohm said. "And I'm very curious to learn what the final act will be."
Runnebohm said he has assigned another professor to the two philosophy classes that Romero, who has a master's degree in theology, had been scheduled to teach beginning Monday.
He is awaiting the outcome of any legal proceedings before determining if Romero will be invited back.
Those who know Romero say he was outraged in 2001 by the International Olympic Committee's decision to award the Olympics to Beijing.
Almost immediately, family members and associates said, the senior pastor at La Puente's Hacienda Christian Fellowship began to plot what became known as his "attention-getting action."
Now Romero could receive plenty of attention from Chinese officials.
Since the Olympics began, most foreign protesters have been questioned for several hours by police and then deported. But China appeared to be losing patience this week when it announced that six foreign Tibet protesters detained Tuesday would be held for 10 days on charges of "upsetting public order."
The U.S. Embassy responded with a statement urging Beijing to recognize the right of people to demonstrate peaceably.
