outside san leandro city hall. i think it says that our cities are for sale. reporter: people at last night s city council meeting says lee said the chinese flag would help attract investors. today he backed away from that. why the chinese flag? acceptance, people of chinese ancestry. reporter: to draw in business? you know, i think that s a channel. reporter: because you said that in the past. yes. reporter: that it s to draw in business. well, i think i said a whole bunch of things. reporter: some residents and human rights organizations are angry saying the flag represents the pain the chinese government has put tibetans and their own people through. reporter: any comments about human flags and american concerns about it? i welcome their freedom, that s the best comment we can have. we were kind of dismayed at fact that this was being done under the auspices of bettering economic ties with china without actually thinking about the egregious human