Article from Austrian Newspaper “Bezirksblatt”: Why a Chinese Citizen is no Longer Allowed to be Chinese

Mr Yong Wang, aged thirty-two, came to Austria in 1993 to study economics and has been working in the IT sector since earning his Master’s Degree.

Although married to Austrian Roswitha Wang-Moritz, he has not applied for Austrian citizenship. “I am a Chinese at heart and fascinated by the long history and beautiful culture of my country,” says Yong. In addition, “So far, the extension of my passport has never been a problem and I have a valid residency permit and work visa in Austria.” The consulate justifies their refusal to extend his passport by saying that he practises and supports Falun Gong. Mr Wang has asked for a written explanation from the consulate but this has been denied so far. Mr Wang would most likely experience confinement to a forced labour camp and torture should he ever decide to return to China. Refusing to issue or prolong passports is often used to make life difficult for Chinese citizens abroad or to force them to return to China. Several cases of refused passport applications have previously cropped up in many European countries and now also in Austria.

Mr Wang would become a stateless person if his passport were not extended

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a traditional Chinese meditation practice. It combines five sets of physical exercises with far-ranging teachings of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, contributing to physical health and mental peace. Falun Dafa grew rapidly in China because of its beneficial effects. Within seven years, the number of practitioners grew to 100 million. This number appeared too large for former head of state Jiang Zemin, who arbitrarily prohibited Falun Gong. Many innocent people have by now been imprisoned, tortured and killed.

Translated from German at http://de.clearharmony.net/articles/200408/18892.html