RFA: More Reporters Denied Visas to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Radio Free Asia reported on May 5, 2006 that two reporters from the New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) Station applied for visas to go to China to investigate the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The Chinese General Consulate in San Francisco denied their application.

During recent months, overseas Chinese media with connections to Falun Gong reported extensively on the CCP's harvesting of body organs from living Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned in concentration camps.

The Falun Dafa Association, some media, and international human rights organizations jointly formed the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong and requested to go to China to conduct an investigation.

Deputy Director Zhang Fen of NTDTV, San Francisco Branch, and reporter Xu Zhen were members of the coalition and decided to go to China.

On April 25, the two of them went to the General Consulate in San Francisco to apply for a visa. Six days later, Ms. Zhang received a call from the consulate and was told her visa application was denied.

Ms. Zhang said that they applied for visas based on the invitation from spokesperson Qin Gang of the CCP's Foreign Ministry, who invited international media to investigate the facts.

Ms. Zhang said, "I don't understand, unless Mr. Qin Gang now says that his invitation on March 28 was not sincere. Or the media CCP invited must follow the CCP's arrangement and cannot conduct an independent investigation. I think everyone can make a judgment. Why does the CCP deny [our visas]? What do they fear?"

Reporter Xu Zhen said, "The denial demonstrates that the CCP is afraid of the people and media's visit. If CCP is not conducting live organ removal, the investigation should be beneficial for them. But with this denial, that is, the invitation is another CCP's lie."

Within the last six days, Ms. Zhang went to the Consulate twice and contacted the consulate official in charge of visa section. She talked about her feelings.

Ms. Zhang, "For this visa officer himself, I think he could not do anything. In other words, he cannot change policies by himself. But apparently, they don't know how to handle such applications for visas to go to China to conduct an investigation of the persecution of Falun Gong."

Ms. Zhang and Mr. Xu are the third group of members of the coalition to apply for visas to China. The first two were General Editor of The Epoch Times Europe Edition and reporters from the Sound of Hope Radio Broadcast Station in Australia. Their visa applications were denied by local embassies and consulates.

(From RFA's broadcast recorded by reporter CK.)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/5/6/127041.html

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