May 4, 2005

(Clearwisdom.net) More than 50 practitioners appealed in front of the Singapore Consulate General in Hong Kong on May 3, 2005 and protested the Singapore Government's unfair conviction of two practitioners. They also called on the Singapore Government to stop being an accomplice of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and participating in persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners held a march at 11 a.m. from a park to the Singapore Consulate General and had a sit-in peaceful appeal on the sidewalk across from the consulate. They held banners that read, "Singapore, stop being CCP's accomplice and participating in persecution of Falun Gong", "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang, and Liu Jing to justice", and "Falun Dafa is good". They called on the Singapore government to withdraw the unlawful verdict. Some practitioners walked to the consulate and handed in an appeal letter.

The incident occurred because two Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Cheng Lujin, practiced the exercises in a park and clarified the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong to passersby. The police interfered for no reason. The police issued charges against the two practitioners in May 2004. Each of them faced eight charges, including "Assembly without a permit" and "Possessing and mailing out uncertified VCDs." After almost one year of hearings, the two practitioners were fined S$20,000 and S$24,000 respectively on April 27, 2005 by the Singapore court. They refused to accept the verdict and expressed their wish to appeal. They were taken to the Changi Women's Prison. The judge refused their release by bail during the appeal period. Ms. Cheng Lujin has a six-month-old baby, but the police refused her request to have her baby brought to her in prison. The incident caught wide attention and in front of Singapore embassies and consulates in many countries practitioners held peaceful appeals.

The Severe Means Are Worse than "Obstruction Case" in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association Spokesperson Kan Hung-cheung said that during the last six years of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, more and more government and people have come to know the facts of Falun Gong and have condemned the persecution. But Singapore government is going against the trend, and at the verge of CCP's collapse, helps CCP in the persecution. It is unfortunate for the country and people. He pointed out that the incident in Singapore was similar to the "Obstruction Case" in Hong Kong 3 years ago. It is another case of the CCP's extension of its persecution overseas.

On March 14, 2002, 16 practitioners from Switzerland and Hong Kong held a peaceful appeal in front of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Dozens of police came and carried away the practitioners one after another to police vehicles. Later police sued the practitioners with seven charges including "obstruction of street traffic" and "assaulting the police." In August 2002, the initial court ruled in favor of all seven charges and fined each of the practitioners HK$1300 to 3800. The incident received wide spread attention and was regarded as political trial.

Practitioners pointed out that Singapore government's conviction of the two women practitioners and fining of them was also a political trial. But Singapore is a sovereign country and different from Hong Kong, which is under the control of the CCP. The means adopted by Singapore Government is worse than that used in Hong Kong. The practitioners convicted were imprisoned right away for refusing payment of the fine and later Ms. Cheng Lujin's request to have her six-month-old baby visit her was refused. The violation of human rights and inhuman means are similar to the policies of the CCP.

Overruling the Injustice Depends on All Circles Knowing the Facts

For the unfair conviction of the "Obstruction Case," Hong Kong practitioners appealed right away and last November the charge of "obstruction of traffic" was withdrawn, but the charges "assaulting the police" and "obstruction of official duty" remain. The practitioners who were convicted continue appealing and wait for final trial court's ruling.

One of the practitioners involved in the "Obstruction Case", Zhou Sheng, said that Hong Kong's unfair conviction was overruled because more people in all circles learned the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong. During last three years, practitioners distributed truth-clarification materials to the judicial community and legislative committee members and explained the facts. Their efforts won many people's sympathy and support, leading to a favorable turn of the incident. She believed that Singapore government and people would make a right choice after knowing the facts of the persecution.