FDI: UN Refugees in Cambodia Forced into Hiding after Chinese Embassy Instigates Deportation of Refugee Couple to China
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 20, 2002 [ http://www.faluninfo.net/
]
Mr. Jiang Linzhong is a 61-year-old Chinese national who lives with his wife,
Wang Minchun, 58, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, under the protection of the UN High Commission on
Refugees. On August 17, a neighbor called to inform him that a number of Cambodian officials
accompanied by at least two Chinese officials had visited Mr. Jiang's home in search of the couple.
Mr. Jiang says he was not in his house at the time and the neighbor advised him not to return home
because it was too dangerous. "We are very concerned about what the Chinese Embassy might do,
especially after they violated UN laws by forcing Cambodian officials to deport Li Guojun and his
wife Zhang Xinyi last week," Mr. Jiang told an FDI reporter by phone.
Mr. Jiang is not certain how many other people living in Cambodia may be in a
similar situation. However, Mr. Jiang says that at least six others who had been attending local
Falun Gong group practice are no longer coming out for fear of arbitrary arrest under pressure from
the Chinese Embassy.
Amnesty International has called for urgent action regarding these Chinese
refugees in Cambodia (for details, contact Mr. T. Kumar at Amnesty's Washington DC office:
202-544-0200).
"Individuals protected by the UNHCR office are having to go into hiding to
protect themselves from the Chinese Embassy," notes Falun Dafa Information Center spokesman
Erping Zhang. "What does this tells us about the ability of Chinese agents to operate above the
law in countries under pressure from China?"
Mr. Zhang continued, "Even here in the United States, the illegal activities
of Chinese officials has sparked U.S. Congress to pass a resolution calling for, among other things,
an investigation into 'illegal activities in the United States of the Government of the People's
Republic of China...'" The resolution (HR 188), which passed unanimously last month, goes on to
call for further investigation, "including allegations of unlawful harassment of United States
citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong and of officials of State and local governments in
the United States who support Falun Gong."
Similar illicit pressure has recently raised concern in Hong Kong where 16
practitioners of Falun Gong were convicted last week on charges of obstruction for occupying a seven
square meter area during a peaceful sit-in on a space of pavement in front of the Chinese Liaison
Office in Hong Kong that defense attorneys described as "big enough to hold a small
concert" (140 square meters). Other charges were also file by police who violently arrested the
practitioners a few hours after they had started the sit-in.
Two Friends Disappear
Mr. Jiang Lin Zhou and his wife had come to Phnom Penh in April 2001 to escape
persecution in China. They set up a small business in the Cambodian capitol and quietly continued
practicing Falun Gong. Every morning, Li Guojun and his wife Zhang Xinyi -- the couple who were
illegally deported back to China on August 9 -- would practice together with Mr. Jiang and his wife
at Mr. Jiang's home or in a local park.
On August 2, however, the couple did not come to Mr. Jiang's home at the usual
time, so he went to their house to make sure nothing was wrong. Li Guojun's neighbors told Mr. Jiang
that two Cambodian police and two Chinese officials had taken the couple away.
Mr. Jiang says he immediately went to the UNHCR Office and reported the
detainment to officials there. He was assured that the case would be investigated. The UN office,
however, was unable to locate the couple.
Finally, on August 9, Mr. Jiang received word that the couple had been deported
back to Guangzhou, China, where they were handcuffed and taken away by Chinese police to Changsha,
the capitol city of Hunan Province.
According to sources in China, the couple is now being held at the Number One
prison of Changsha. Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a practice of meditation and exercises
with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It
is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by
Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate
from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992,
it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.
With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong,
China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999, fearful of anything
touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit
of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's
regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while
quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 455 deaths since the
persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report
that the actual death toll is well over 1,600. Over 100,000 have been detained, with more than
20,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps without trial.
á
Amnesty International Calls for Urgent Action
Illegally Deported Couple Being Held in Number One Prison of Changsha, China
NEW YORK, August 20, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) -- Two Falun Gong practitioners living in Phnom Penh under UN protection have been forced into hiding eight days after the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh reportedly pressured Cambodian officials to violate the UN refugee status of two other Falun Gong practitioners by deporting them back to China.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER- Contacts: Gail
Rachlin 917-501-4441, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, Adam Montanaro 917-405-4507, or Feng Yuan
646-523-5676. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com,
Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/
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