Hong Kong: Three Falun Gong Practitioners Denied Entry into Singapore

By a Falun Gong practitioner in Hong Kong

(Clearwisdom.net) Three Falun Gong practitioners, Chee Fei-ming, Tsang Hau-sim and Tse Lai-sim, were denied entry into Singapore early morning on September 23, 2006 by the Singapore authorities. They boarded a flight back to Hong Kong later in the morning after each of them was forced to pay $100 Singapore dollars as "airfare." The practitioners pointed out that the Singapore authorities unreasonably denied their entry, obviously to appease the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and used the CCP's blacklist approach to participate in the persecution.

According to Chee Fei-ming, she once entered Singapore smoothly this March. She felt that her denial of entry had something to do with the false charges leveled against Falun Gong practitioners and the related court hearing to be held on September 25. It was one in a series of actions that the Singapore government has taken to discriminate against and hinder Falun Gong practitioners. They protested against the Singapore government creating all kinds of difficulties and persecuting local practitioners in order to curry favor with the CCP, as well as unreasonably denying their entry.

At 1:00 a.m. on September 23, three Falun Gong practitioners arrived at Singapore's Changyi Airport from Hong Kong, ready to audit a new round of court hearings to be held against local Falun Gong practitioners. Tse Lai-sim first entered smoothly, but Chee Fei-ming and Tsang Hau-sim were taken to another counter. Tse Lai-sim, who was waiting outside, was then also taken away by the authorities and had her visa revoked. The three of them were brought to a room, and a customs officer told them that they could leave after being checking out.

Then, the customs officer required them to give their fingerprints and wanted to take photos of them. They originally refused the requirement, but the officer told them that they could enter Singapore after giving their fingerprints.

After the authorities completed the procedure, the three practitioners were told that they would be deported. They all received a notification of being denied entry. The reason given to them was that customs was unable to issue them a visa according to current entry bylaws. When the three practitioners pressed the customs officer for the reason for their being deported, he only repeatedly said that they received instructions from high-level authorities and knew nothing more.

The Singapore authorities planned to send the three Falun Gong practitioners to board a flight to Hong Kong at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. Each of them were required to pay 100 Singapore dollars for the flight. When they initially refused, they were told that if they persisted, their luggage would be searched, and any money found in there would be confiscated. They then had no choice but to pay for their own deportation.

Tsang Hau-sim said that this trip was to support local Falun Gong practitioners and sit in on the court hearings of the two accused practitioners. She condemned the Singapore authorities' way of handling things, because as Falun Gong practitioners, they are all peaceful and law-abiding people.

The three practitioners, together with more than a dozen fellow practitioners from Switzerland and Hong Kong, held a peaceful sit-in in March 2002 outside the Chinese Liaison Office to protest the CCP and Jiang Zemin's regime's order to "kill without pardon," and they were falsely charged with "obstructing the streets" and other made-up crimes by the Hong Kong authorities. They were found guilty at the first trial. More than a dozen practitioners then appealed to the higher court, and ultimately all charges against them were withdrawn in May 2005.

The Hong Kong practitioners pointed out that the local government in Hong Kong, Macao, Iceland and Singapore have all at some point denied Falun Gong practitioners' entry into their countries based on a blacklist provided by the CCP. In some places, the authorities continued to repress Falun Gong. The practitioners shared their hope that these countries and regions will see the true face of the CCP and position themselves well in the future.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/9/25/138644.html

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