Chicago Tribune: Passport denied due to ties to Falun Gong, scientist says

By Emily Biuso
Tribune staff reporter

June 5, 2002

A Motorola research scientist says the Chinese Consulate in Chicago has denied his passport renewal because he is a [practitioner] of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China.

Zhiwei Xu, who goes by Tommy Xu, said he met with consulate officials Tuesday while about 20 Falun Gong [practitioners] practiced exercises on the sidewalk across the street. [...]

A spokesman for the consulate, Zhijian Jin, said Xu's passport renewal had been denied [...] but he would not comment on whether it was related to his practice of Falun Gong.

When his passport expires on June 15, Xu will no longer be able to travel internationally. He can leave the United States but cannot re-enter without a valid passport.

Xu, of Schaumburg, can stay in the United States and work at Motorola because he has valid work authorization from the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services, Motorola officials said.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a self-improvement movement that combines exercises with meditation to promote physical and spiritual well-being. The movement was founded in China in 1992. Some estimate that millions practice it worldwide. China banned the group in 1999, and the Chinese government has imprisoned and sentenced [practitioners] to terms in labor camps for the practice.

Xu's charges are the latest in a controversy between Chicago-area Falun Gong [practitioners] and the consulate. In April, the consulate was included in a list of defendants in a federal suit filed by about 50 [practitioners] of the group nationwide, charging that some had been harassed and physically attacked while distributing literature outside of the consulate building at 100 W. Erie St.

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