News release by the Austrian Falun Dafa Information Centre on July the 30th 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) A passport extension application made by Mr Wang Yong, who
holds a Masters Degree in Economic Information Engineering, was refused by the
Chinese Consulate in Vienna on July the 21st 2004. Mr Wang Yong, 32, has lived
in Austria since 1993. The reason the Chinese Consulate refused the passport
extension is because Yong practises Falun Dafa and regularly participates in
peaceful appeals at the Chinese Consulate in Vienna, calling for an end to the
persecution of Falun Gong in China. Yong asked the Chinese Consulate to give him
a written explanation for the refusal, but his request was rejected. If Yong
returns to China, it is very likely that he will face brainwashing and
persecution in a forced labour camp.
Wang Yong with his wife and son
The 'Black Hand' that persecutes Falun Gong has been extended to Austria It is the first time that a passport extension application by a Chinese Falun
Gong practitioner living in Austria has been refused just because he practises
Falun Dafa. Yong's Austrian wife and their two-month-old son could also sense
that the Jiang group's persecution of Falun Gong has extended to overseas.
"It is a fact that Mr Wang Yong practises Falun Gong, but he should have
freedom of belief and freedom of speech. And it should never be a reason for
depriving him of his freedom to travel." - excerpt from a letter to the Chinese
Embassy in Vienna on July the 28th, 2004 by human rights organisation, 'Society
for Threatened People'.
Yong said, "What is ironic is that in the talk with the Chinese Embassy
personnel, they denied the cruel persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in
China. But they didn't realise that what they are doing at the time, as they
refused to extend my passport, is already beyond their normal working procedures
and this incident itself is a form of persecution."
The refusal of passport extensions has become a common persecution approach In countries other than China, refusal of a passport extension has been
widely employed to persecute overseas Falun Gong practitioners, making it more
difficult for them to live overseas and force them to return to China. This kind
of incident even happens in Austria at present. The refusal of Yong's passport
extension means he'll become a person without nationality. As a Chinese citizen
without identification documents evidencing nationality, he'll be unable to
travel freely as other Chinese citizens can.
A few years ago, a new-born baby in the UK was unable to get a Chinese
passport because her parents practised Falun Gong. Meanwhile, because of her
parents' Chinese nationality, the baby could not get a UK passport either. As a
result, this baby became a person without nationality from the moment she was
born.
Some Austrian citizens have also experienced the persecution of Falun Gong
first hand. For instance, two years ago, two Austrian citizens living in
Salzburg were denied their application for a tourist visa to China, because the
Chinese Embassy was informed that they practised Falun Gong. The staff at the
travel agency that dealt with their visa and tickets were very confused, because
they had never heard of a refusal of Austrian citizens' visa application by the
Chinese Embassy before.
About Mr Wang Yong
Wang Yong, 32, is a Chinese national who earned his Masters Degree in
Economic Information Engineering from a university in Vienna. He is currently
living in Vienna with his wife, an Austrian national, and their two-month-old
son and has permanent residence status.
Since his Chinese passport is due to expire on September the 10th 2004, Yong
submitted his passport extension application to the Chinese Consulate in Vienna
on June the 30th 2004. On July the 7th, when he went to the Chinese Consulate to
collect his passport, he was told that the Consulate had to wait for the
decision from the authorities in China. After making several enquiries
thereafter, Yong was finally informed on July the 21st that his passport could
not be extended because he practises Falun Gong and actively participated in
peaceful appeals to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.
About Falun Gong
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, it is a traditional Chinese
self-cultivation practice originating in China, and has been practised in over
sixty countries throughout the world. In addition to its five sets of exercises,
Falun Gong requires its practitioners to live by the principles of
"Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance."
Since July the 20th 1999, Falun Gong has undergone irrational persecution
initiated by China's former leader Jiang Zemin. Since the persecution began,
millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally arrested, and more than
ten thousand others (the actual figure may be much higher) have been sent to
forced labour camps without any form of legal proceedings. This persecution has
affected people from all walks of life: Some are deprived of their jobs and
housing, students are expelled from schools, the pregnant are forced to have
abortions and couples are forced to divorce. According to the figure confirmed
by the Falun Dafa Information Centre, well over 1,000 have been tortured to
death in jails or forced labour camps. Moreover, the actual death count is far
more than this figure.
For more information, please contact the Austrian Falun Dafa Information
Centre.
Posting date: 8/10/2004
Original article date: 8/10/2004
Category: Eyewitness Accounts
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/8/6/81140.html