Hong Kong: Practitioners March to Singapore Consulate with Letter Urging the Government to Withdraw Charges and Stop Being an Accomplice of the CCP

The case of the trumped-up charges against local Falun Gong practitioners by the Singapore government started a new round of court hearings at the local Subordinate Court on September 25th, 2006. At 11:00 a.m. that morning in Hong Kong, a group of Falun Gong practitioners set off from Charter Garden and marched to the Consulate General of Singapore to deliver an open letter, urging the Singapore authorities to immediately withdraw the unreasonable charges against local practitioners and to stop follow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Hong Kong practitioners hold banners and signs as they march to the Consulate General of Singapore to protest

Practitioners read the open letter outside the Consulate General of Singapore

A practitioner delivers the letter, a consulate staff member accepts it

The incident took place on July 20th, 2006, when three Falun Gong practitioners displayed a banner reading "Hunger Strike on July 20th in Protest of the CCP's Inhumane Persecution of Falun Gong" outside the Chinese Embassy in Singapore. The police charged two of them in court with "harassment by displaying insulting writing." The first five-day round of court hearings began on August 28th, and a new round of court hearings is schedule to start on September 25th. Early in the morning on September 23rd, the Singapore authorities denied entry to three Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners who tried to enter Singapore to attend the court hearings. They were deported to Hong Kong later in the morning.

The three Hong Kong practitioners who were unreasonably deported took part in the parade on September 25th. After reaching the Consulate General of Singapore, the practitioners read out the open letter outside the consulate, urging the Singapore authorities to respect freedom of speech and other basic human rights and to immediately withdraw the charges against local practitioners. The letter was later delivered to a consulate staff member.