Ireland: Falun Gong Practitioners Peacefully Appeal at the Singapore Consulate

On April 29th 2005, Irish Falun Gong practitioners held a peaceful appeal at the Singapore Consulate in Dublin. They called upon the Singapore Government and its justice department to immediately revoke the groundless prosecution and sentencing of two innocent Singapore Falun Gong practitioners. They told the Singapore authorities not to bow to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party by joining them to persecute innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

Peaceful appeal at the Singapore Consulate		Talking to the Singapore Consul

After attending group Falun Gong exercise practice and telling the facts of the persecution to Singapore citizens, two Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Cheng Lujin, were charged with eight violations by the Singapore Police in May 2004, including “illegal assembly without an application” and “possession and distribution of CDs without permission”. After a trial that lasted almost a year, the Singapore Court convicted the two practitioners. Ng and Cheng were fined 24,000 and 20,000 Singapore Dollars, respectively. The two practitioners refused to accept the verdict and indicated their intention to appeal. They were taken to Changi Women's Prison at six o’clock the same evening, where they may be imprisoned for up to twenty-four weeks.

With the occurrence of this event, Singapore has become the only country to join Mainland China in jailing Falun Gong practitioners. Although the Singapore court said repeatedly that the verdict was a reinforcement of Singapore’s law, it has actually infringed the freedoms of speech and assembly ensured by the country’s constitution. The law must safeguard justice, uphold compassion and suppress evil. The facts about Falun Gong’s persecution in China are known to the entire world. As more and more righteous governments and compassionate people stand up and help in stopping this wicked persecution, the verdict in Singapore is quite unexpected.

Analysts have suggested that the evil Chinese Communist Party has played a role in the verdict behind the scenes. How could a democratic country under the rule of law surrender itself to the most vicious and despicable political party in the world? This is deplorable. History has shown that every country has to make a choice in the face of justice and evil. The choice will determine the future of the people and the country. “Good produces good, evil produces evil.” This is an irrefutable universal principle.

Irish practitioners went to the consulate to hand out leaflets and display banners exposing the persecution that is currently happening in China and to call on the Singapore Government not to allow themselves to be taken advantage of by the Chinese Communist Party. Many kind hearted people stopped and took a leaflet and expressed concern for the practitioners, especially the young mother who is currently on hunger strike to protest against the horrible treatment.

The Singapore Honorary Consul, the highest-ranking official to represent Singapore in Ireland, was very accessible and talked with different practitioners during the day. They told him about the persecution from different angles.

On Monday the 2nd of May, some practitioners returned to the consulate. Nearly every person we talked to said that they saw us on Friday and supported us.

Irish practitioners sincerely hope that our fellow Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore are released from detention as soon as possible and that the Singapore Government resists the pressure from the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong. We would like to call upon the Singapore government to make the right decision so that Singapore can avoid joining the Chinese Communist Party simply because of short-term interest. We also hope the righteous Singapore citizens can help the Singapore government to make a just choice.