The Boston Globe: Falun Gong [Practitioners] Say Iceland Set Ban

By Ray Henry, Globe Correspondent, 6/14/2002

Over the past two days, about 25 local [practitioners] of Falun Gong were prevented from traveling from Boston to Iceland while Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits the island nation, [...] practitioners said last night.

The Icelandic government told the practitioners the ban was for security reasons and to prevent violent clashes between Falun Gong demonstrators and Jiang's delegation, which arrived in Iceland yesterday.

The Associated Press reported that Iceland sent police to Boston and several European cities specifically to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from boarding Icelandair flights during Jiang's visit. But state and local law enforcement agencies last night said they were unaware of any local presence of Icelandic officers.

A [practitioner] of the group said at least 13 of the practitioners were turned away from the Icelandair ticket counter at Logan Airport, even though they had purchased tickets in advance.

Tianlun Jian, 46, of Cambridge was planning to leave from Logan Airport on Wednesday night to join his daughter, who was one of 65 [practitioners] temporarily detained by Icelandic authorities after arriving in Keflavik, he said. All were released on Wednesday.

When Jian attempted to check in at the Icelandair counter, he said a manager told him his ticket was revoked since his name was on a list issued by the Icelandic government banning the Falun Gong practitioners from entering from June 10-16.

''I'm an American citizen, my daughter also,'' Jian said. ''That's why I'm so annoyed. I was stopped from boarding in my own land.''

A second [practitioner], Anna Chan, 27, of Allston, took a British Airways flight to Heathrow Airport in England, but couldn't board her connecting Icelandair flight to Keflavik, she said. An Icelandair ticket agent said her name was also on the Falun Gong watch list.

Although Icelandair paid for Chan's flight back to Boston, her tickets cost more than $1,000 and said she has not received a refund.

Chan and Jian both said they did not know how their name got on the list since they said Falun Gong does not keep a roster of believers. Chan suspected the Chinese and Icelandic governments have been monitoring [practitioners] in the media and also at protests.

''Even on the Web site for Falun Dafa, I'm not even on a contact list,'' Chan said. ''I definitely think they have been following it.''

Officials at Icelandair and the Icelandic Embassy in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment last night.

Falun Gong is a belief system derived from a series of ancient Chinese breathing exercises called qigong that incorporate elements of Buddhism and Daoism.

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This story ran on page A38 of the Boston Globe on 6/14/2002.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/165/nation/Falun_Gong_followers_say_Iceland_set_ban+.shtml

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