TAIPEI (AP) July 3 --- Hong Kong police have expelled more than 90 Taiwanese [practitioners] of the Falun Gong meditation group, who planned to protest in the Chinese territory, a [practitioner] said yesterday.

Also expelled from Hong Kong's airport on Monday were about 30 other Taiwanese tourists who were mistaken for Falun Gong [practitioners] because they had the same names as those on a blacklist, said Chang Ching-hsi, [contact person] of the group [in Taiwan].

Still, dozens of other Taiwanese Falun Gong [practitioners] entered Hong Kong last weekend without being detected and participated in a protest to denounce China's crackdown on the group, Chang said."We really question whether Hong Kong is a democratic place that respects human rights."

Chang Ching-hsi, [contact person] of the Falun Gong [in Taiwan] "We really question whether Hong Kong is a democratic place that respects human rights," Chang said.

The Hong Kong Security Bureau has declined to discuss the specifics of why some of the protesters were barred from entering Hong Kong, where Falun Gong is legal.

[...]

A Chinese-language newspaper in Taiwan quoted Falun Gong [practitioner] Tsai Ching-chuang as saying several [practitioners] who refused to be expelled were put in bags with their hands and feet bound by ropes.

Some local protesters were granted permits by the Hong Kong police, but they were confined to small areas well away from where the celebrations, attended by China's president and the territory's chief executive, were being held.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/07/03/story/0000146826

Posting date: 7/4/2002
Original article date: 7/3/2002
Category: News & Media Reports