Incidents at the MacRitchie Reservoir and the Merlion Statue Show Singapore Placing Its Future in the Hands of the Chinese Communist Party (Photos)
(Clearwisdom.net) On April 27, 2005, a Singapore court rendered an unjust
verdict against two Falun Gong practitioners who reside in Singapore. Ms. Ng
Chye Huay and Ms. Chen Lu Jin were wrongfully accused and found guilty for
"assembly without a permit" and "possession and distribution of
VCD's without an MDA certificate." The only issues for which they could be
held accountable were raising people's awareness of the Chinese Communist
Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and showing the peacefulness of Falun
Gong. They had simply practiced Falun Gong's exercises at Singapore's Esplanade
Park. The judge imposed a penalty on both practitioners in the form of a large
fine that was not proportionate to the so-called crime. The defendants pleaded
not guilty, as the verdict was unjust, and they filed an appeal. The judge set
aside due process and sentenced them to serve at Changi Women's Prison, with the
sentence starting at once, as the women refused to pay the fines. They each face
a 24-week prison term. Since the Minghui website began reporting on the Merlion Statue incident in
Esplanade Park, Falun Gong practitioners worldwide have publicly expressed their
deep concerns. People of morality and justice worldwide have urged the Singapore
government to stop acting as an accomplice of the CCP in its persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners, and to acquit and release Ms. Ng and Ms. Chen
immediately. An increasing number of appeals in the rescue of these two ladies
have been taking place worldwide. To serve the public's interest, and to determine Singapore's attitude towards
Falun Gong from the inception of the persecution, I interviewed three overseas
Chinese who previously resided in Singapore, Mr. Dong, Mr. Jiang and Ms. Li.
During the interview, these three former residents of Singapore shared their
personal experiences and knowledge of the Singapore government's discrimination,
illegal restriction, and persecutory policies against Falun Gong practitioners.
These actions violate Singapore's Constitution and international human rights
regulations. Moreover, the way that the Singapore government staged the
MacRitchie Reservoir incident and the Merlion Statue incident to justify its
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners mirrors the persecution in China. Below
is a synopsis of the interviews. The Miscarriage of Justice on the Merlion Statue Incident Echo That of the
MacRitchie Reservoir Incident Mr. Dong recalled, "On March 30, 2001, four years before the miscarriage
of justice in the Merlion Statue incident, a Singapore court rendered an unjust
verdict concerning the MacRitchie Reservoir incident. I was one of the
participants in the incident." "At the end of 2000, 107 Falun Gong practitioners were known to have
died as result of the CCP's persecution. During the evening of December 31,
2000, a group of Singapore's Falun Gong practitioners organized a candlelight
vigil at the MacRitchie Reservoir, as a memorial service for those 107 Falun
Gong practitioners who had died in China. MacRitchie Reservoir is one of the
major sightseeing points of Singapore. For the past several years, prior to the
CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, groups of Singapore Falun Gong practitioners
have on a number of occasions demonstrated Falun Gong's peaceful exercises
during weekends or holidays in this park. The police had not even once asked us
for a permit. We were free to do the exercises. Our activities were never called
'illegal assemblies.'" "At around 6:00 p.m., about 60 Falun Gong practitioners with their
children and babies arrived at MacRitchie Reservoir. They had come to attend
this activity, as they had during the past few years. We arranged them to sit in
small circles of ten people during the candlelight vigil memorial service in the
sitting meditation position. Several practitioners at the memorial service had
families or relatives illegally imprisoned in one of China's prisons, because of
their belief in Falun Gong. For the memorial service, we had made two posters on
a foam board, listing the names and photographs of the 107 deceased Falun Gong
practitioners. The Chinese titles of the two posters were 'Candlelight Vigil'
and 'Mourn the Fellow Practitioners.'" The candlelight vigil at MacRitchie Reservoir on December 31,
2000 The moment the memorial service began, a group of police vehicles arrived.
They ordered us to stop the activity and leave immediately. They also tried to
confiscate the two large posters on foam boards. We refused to give them the
boards. We began to explain to the police that the posters contained merely the
names and the photographs of the deceased Falun Gong practitioners and that this
candlelight vigil was to mourn them. We chose this location because it is far
from any residential area. Because the activity started at 6:00 p.m., when it
was already dark, we would not disturb any tourists, as they had already left.
Hence, having a candlelight vigil here did not inconvenience anyone. The police would not listen to reason. They called for backup and a SWAT
team. Three large police vans and many police sedans hurried to the location. We
felt saddened and betrayed by the police department's belligerent response. We
continued to explain our cause rationally to the police, and pleaded with them
to reconsider. After about three hours of communication with the police, they
still had not changed their mind. They confiscated the posters and arrested 15
Falun Gong practitioners. The 15 Falun Gong practitioners were charged in court
by the police. Seven of them were sentenced with imprisonment for a month, and
eight were each fined 1,000 Singapore Dollars (SGD). This was the first time
that the Singapore government persecuted Falun Gong practitioners, echoing the
CCP's persecution, after the CCP began openly persecuting Falun Gong on July 20,
1999. The arrest of Falun Gong practitioners attending the
candlelight vigil at the MacRitchie Reservoir. The photo on the right was
published in a local newspaper. The CCP media, including Xinhua News and CCTV, immediately had a field day
with the wrongful arrests at the MacRitchie Reservoir and the court's subsequent
ruling. China's media used it as 'evidence' that the entire world banned Falun
Gong. China's forced labor camps and prisons had their wardens read the news and
promote the news among the incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. They intended
to give the Falun Gong practitioners a false impression that countries worldwide
were banning Falun Gong. To this day you can still find the Xinhua News report
of the MacRitchie Reservoir incident at China's Embassy in Singapore. Obviously,
Singapore's government supplied a powerful weapon to the CCP's arsenal of lies
and deceit to justify its persecution of Falun Gong. Four years after the unjust accusations of the MacRitchie Reservoir incident,
the Singapore government launched another attack on Falun Gong practitioners who
were clarifying the truth about Falun Gong at Esplanade Park. It is a repetition
of the injustice inflicted upon the Falun Gong practitioners involved in the
MacRitchie Reservoir incident. Apparently the Singapore government had no second
thoughts in becoming an accomplice to the CCP in its persecution of Falun Gong.
It is willing to forego its reputation in order to bow to the Chinese Communist
regime, a regime that has been condemned globally for its persecution of Falun
Gong. Singapore's Attitude towards Falun Gong Changes After the Persecution of
Falun Gong Begins in China, Reflecting the CCP's Demonic Influence on Singapore According to Mr. Jiang, the unjust rulings of the MacRitchie Reservoir
incident in March 2001 and the Merlion Statue incident in Esplanade Park in
April 2005 were made to kowtow to the CCP, after the CCP began to openly
persecute Falun Gong in 1999. The MacRitchie Reservoir is a popular location for activities by Singapore's
local organizations. Hundreds of people often assemble at the MacRitchie
Reservoir for various types of public activities. Also, many qigong
organizations in Singapore also hold activities at MacRitchie Reservoir. Prior
to 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore often practiced Falun Gong's
exercises as a group during weekends and holidays in this location. We never had
to apply for a permit, and the police had not asked us for any permit. We have been practicing the Falun Gong exercises and clarifying the truth
about Falun Gong at Esplanade Park every day for the past five years. We have
braved all types of weather, and have never stopped our cause for a day. Ms. Ng
Chye Huay and Ms. Chen Lujin, the wrongfully accused Falun Gong practitioners,
are both housewives. They often take their children with them to Esplanade Park
to practice the Falun Gong exercises. They have never been asked for a permit
until February 23, 2003, when the police ran them off the premises, confiscated
their truth-clarifying materials, and recorded their ID card numbers. The police
gave five Falun Gong practitioners harsh warnings, and accused Ms. Ng and Ms.
Chen of "assembly without a permit" and "possession and
distribution of VCD's without an MDA certificate." The Falun Dafa Association in Singapore has been registered with the
Singapore government as a legal organization since as early as 1996. Prior to
July 1999, we were not required to apply for a permit for any public activities.
Falun Gong practitioners had the freedom to practice and promote Falun Gong to
the public. We were free to hang banners in public with such messages as
"Learn Falun Gong for Free" or to distribute free leaflets promoting
Falun Gong. Several hundred Falun Gong practitioners had repeatedly practiced
Falun Gong exercises publicly in Singapore in the past without needing a permit.
We enjoyed such freedom until July 1999. The environment in Singapore took an abrupt downturn after July 20, 1999. The
Singapore government started to restrict Falun Gong practitioners' freedoms,
discriminate against Falun Gong practitioners, and interfere or even ban our
activities. The Singapore authorities arbitrarily searched practitioners, denied
our permit applications for public activities, rejected and/or delayed
practitioners' applications for permanent residency or citizenship, terminated
practitioners' use of public facilities, unlawfully investigated practitioners,
handed down unjust rulings, and began to hold a completely biased view of Falun
Gong. According to Ms. Li, one of the fifteen defendants in the MacRitchie
Reservoir incident, the CCP sent its people to attend the court proceedings. She
said, "The court wrongfully accused and imprisoned me for a month.
Following the trial, the Singapore Immigration terminated my permanent
residency. Moreover, the local Chinese media, which is controlled by the CCP,
distorted the facts in their reports and smeared the good reputation of Falun
Gong practitioners. They had a field day with the court's unjust ruling and
negatively influenced the local Singapore residents' view of Falun Gong. The
CCP's media in China published these malicious reports and used them to deceive
the people in China. China's regime used these incidents to justify their
persecution against Falun Gong and to intensify the pressure on Falun Gong
practitioners in China's prisons." Singapore Falun Gong practitioners have unwaveringly lived by Falun Gong's
principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. They could not have
been responsible for the Singapore's government change of attitude towards Falun
Gong. The root cause is the CCP's belligerent attitude towards Falun Gong.
China's Embassy in Singapore also holds great responsibility in the persecution
against the Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore. They have launched hate
propaganda against Falun Gong, manipulated the local media into starting a smear
campaign, put political pressure on the Singapore government through diplomatic
means, rejected Chinese Falun Gong practitioners' passport renewal applications,
spied on the practitioners in Singapore, interfered with the practitioners'
local activities, harassed the practitioners' personal businesses, and illegally
collected the practitioners' personal information to compile a list of Falun
Gong practitioners. Police Abuse Power and Use Law as a Persecution Tool When discussing the Singapore court verdict of innocent Falun Gong
practitioners, Mr. Dong and Mr. Jiang gave their opinions saying, "The
Singapore court is above the law, and uses and abuses power above the law to the
degrade the sanctity of law." Mr. Dong said, "People know that the laws in Singapore are strict and
thorough, and the government uses the law to regulate and control people's
behavior." Many expatriates working and studying in Singapore agree. On the
other hand, the Singapore judicial system grants the police system absolute
power. The police have great freedom imposing their will in cases involving
issues that concern the so-called social stability. For example, they can grant
or refuse a permit at will for an activity without explanation. Falun Gong practitioners clarify the truth all over the world, and people
know that practitioners follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Their truth
clarification activities are peaceful and rational, and they don't pose any
threat to the safety of the general public. Mr. Jiang said, "Although there are numerous laws in Singapore, there is
a unique phenomenon, which is that law administrators have great freedom in
interpreting the laws. The law administrators use the law as a gun, and they
decide whether to pull the trigger depending on the circumstance and the people
they deal with. After the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong, the Singaporean
government tightened its policy regarding Falun Gong and even did things to
appease the CCP. The gun was pointed at innocent Falun Gong practitioners." Distribution of Falun Gong truth clarifying materials has always been legal,
but the police recently charged the practitioners with "assembly without
permit." The court decided it is illegal for the practitioners to mail
VCD's entitled "Facts About the Tiananmen Self-immolation," which are
not for commercial interest, and are not harmful or violent. The content of the
VCD's can be downloaded freely online, so copyright issues are not involved. Yet
the Singapore government decided it was illegal for Falun Gong practitioners to
clarify the truth and expose the persecution. Other than the CCP in China, what
other country in the world would convict the practitioners for speaking the
truth and opposing the persecution? Mr. Dong quoted an article entitled "Regarding the Participation in the
Persecution of Falun Gong by the Singaporean Government" publicized by the World
Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. This article
explains that the Singapore police allow the local media to publish articles
attacking Falun Gong, and permit the Chinese government officials to distribute
Falun Gong-slandering materials and VCDs to members of the Singapore Parliament
and to NGOs without any permit and without any legal consequences to the
senders. The Singapore police issued a permit for an exhibit held by the Chinese
consulate that contains fabrications that viciously slander Falun Gong. Falun
Gong is a registered group and peaceful spiritual movement, yet the victims are
not allowed to speak the truth and defend their reputation, lest they face
charges and even sentencing. Is this fair? What or whom is the Singaporean law
protecting? The People of Singapore Have the Right to Choose Their Own Future Mr. Jiang said, "No matter for what reason the Singapore government
decided to follow the CCP in persecuting Falun Gong, it is a wrong decision.
Heaven will not tolerate persecution of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and
such persecution is likewise not condoned according to principles of justice on
earth. The CCP is now facing its end because it persecuted Falun Gong. Isn't it
unwise for the Singapore government to hitch its wagon to the sinking CCP?" Mr. Dong said, "During the past several years, the Singapore government
has tightened its control over Falun Gong while maintaining a façade of
normalcy on the surface. In the early stages of the persecution, the Chinese
media in Singapore printed many slanderous articles from Mainland China that
poisoned the minds of the Singapore people, many of whom did not know about
Falun Gong at the time. As a result, they believed these lies and still don't
realize that the Singapore government is persecuting Falun Gong practitioners to
please the CCP. However, Singapore belongs to the people and not the people in
power. The people of Singapore should decide the future of Singapore. We should
make these facts about this wrongful verdict and incarceration known to the
people of Singapore through voices around the world, and at the same time urge
the Singapore government to overturn the verdict, restore the practitioners'
human rights, and respect their noble belief." In the end, Ms. Li said, "In 2001, I was falsely charged and thrown into
a Singapore prison for one month. I asked to be allowed to bring a copy of Zhuan
Falun into the prison, but my request was denied. They withheld the book my
husband brought me and never gave it to me. They treat Falun Gong practitioners
like the heavily sentenced criminals. They gave me a very dilapidated sleeping
mat, and they gave me some leftover toothpaste. No one talked to me except when
someone brought me food. I held a hunger strike for more than 20 days to resist
the persecution, but during this period no one said a word, and no one asked me
whether I was okay. Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Chen Lu Jin were also illegally
incarcerated. However, they don't deserve these punishments because it's not
wrong to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people, and it's not wrong to
expose the brutal persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP. But it is a true crime
to lock up the innocent. If the Singapore people knew about all these violations
of law by their government, they would never allow it to take place. The
heavenly principle 'good will be rewarded and evil reaps its own evil applies to
individuals, groups, and countries."
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/5/1/100878.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net