France: The Chinese Consulate in France Refuses to Renew my Passport

My name is Wang Hong. I live in Paris, France. My People's Republic of China passport expired on March the 3rd 2004, so at 2:30pm that day I went to the Consular Department of the Chinese Embassy to have my passport renewed. A lady at the passport counter accepted my application form along with two photos, my expired passport, some duplicate copies and a permanent residence document. She told me to claim my new passport on March the 17th. I told her that I was going abroad soon, and hoped to get my new passport as soon as possible. At my request, she issued an urgent receipt for me to claim a new passport.

On the morning of March the 8th, I received a phone call from Mr. Yuan in the Consular Department, informing me to go there and have a talk with the people in his department. I replied that I could go there right away, but he asked me to go there that afternoon and to contact Secretary Liu upon arrival. I arrived at the Embassy about 3 p.m., and Secretary Liu took me to have an interview in a reception room. The following is the major text of the interview:

Liu: “Ms. Wang Hong, today, on behalf of the Consulate I’d like to talk with you regarding the renewal of your passport. You passport has expired and there are no blank pages available for an extension, so it must be replaced by a new one. But we need to refer your application to the authorities in China for further review. Since we are pending approval from the competent authorities, you needn’t come here tomorrow.”

Wang: “May I ask if this review process is applied to all applicants?”

Liu: “No.”

Wang: “Then, what are the reasons for sending my case for further review?”

Secretary Liu kept silent.

Wang: “Is it because I practise Falun Gong?”

Liu: “Yes.”

Wang: “What is the basis for reviewing my application?”

Liu: “As you are aware, our country has a policy on Falun Gong. Of course, it is based on our national policy.”

Wang: “The formulation of the national policy to crack down on Falun Gong is against the constitution, so the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners pursuant to this policy is illegal. My passport has expired, but I can only wait for two options: The first is they issue a new passport to me, but I don’t know when. However, during the period before getting the passport, I wonder what document can identify my nationality? The other is that they won’t issue a passport to me. In that case, what message does my country wish to convey to me through this practice? Does it want to warn me that I am not entitled to be a Chinese citizen because I practise Falun Gong? Does it mean that due to practising Falun Gong, a Chinese citizen in a foreign country must either be deprived of the right of free movement or return to China to suffer persecution. To my understanding, only citizens can give up their nationality, and government agencies are not entitled to deprive the citizens with a passport of the right.”

I went on to say that Falun Gong practitioners are not against the government, and are certainly not against the Chinese people. All they have done is to let the general public know the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong, and put an end to this oppression endangering our country and our people as soon as possible. Secretary Liu kept listening earnestly without expressing his attitude. I said to him, “In this crackdown, not only do Falun Gong practitioners suffer inhuman and brutal persecution, but many innocent people are involved in the oppression to act against their consciences under pressure. I fully understand your position, but as long as you have a clear mind, you can still choose what to do and what not to do.”

Secretary Liu replied, “Well, if you like, you may take back your passport first. We have no other choice but wait for the outcome of the review in China. As I mentioned in the beginning, the reason for me to tell you this on behalf of the Consulate is to avoid your coming here without getting any answer tomorrow. I have come to know what you mentioned, and have understood your position, Okay?”

The following day, I went to the Consulate with my receipt, and was received by Secretary Liu again. I asked him, “If I take back my passport and give you back the receipt, can you give me a proof to certify that I have been here to apply for my passport renewal? In addition, if the Consulate is unable to renew my passport, can you let me know the reason in writing?”

He replied, “Nowadays, the processing procedures are different from the past. Every step is processed by computer, and no one at any level is entitled to issue proof in writing at will.”

I said, “When I first came here to lodge my application, Ms. Yuan at that counter didn’t ask me any questions. Right after I handed her my application form along with my photos, she gave me this receipt. She wrote urgent on the receipt at my request, and asked me to pick up my passport on the due day. In other words, that was the normal procedure.”

Secretary Liu replied, “Definitely, you are right. It is impossible for us to send all the passports of several hundred thousand overseas Chinese to be reviewed by the authorities in China.”

I asked, “Then, why was my application needed for a review by the authorities in China? What is the first step of the review? And who decided it?"

He said, “I cannot tell you the answer, and you don’t need to ask for the details.” From his response I could see that the officials of the Consulate also felt their way of dealing with this matter was not altogether right.

I replied, “If that was your normal official procedure, I wouldn’t ask any questions. But as you just mentioned, this scrutiny procedure is not applicable to every applicant, and my case has something to do with China’s policy towards Falun Gong, it is apparent that the decision was made due to the crackdown on Falun Gong.”

Liu: “I have told you that I am only a clerk and I can only do what they tell me to do.”

Wang: “Then can you let me know which secretary or councillor is responsible for the business concerning Falun Gong? Can I have a talk with him or her?”

Liu: “I cannot tell you that; I have nothing to tell you.” His answer once again indicated that the Chinese Consulate’s act was unreasonable.

Wang: “Now, I understand that it isn’t at your discretion. But the reason why I asked you who is responsible for this matter is that it involves the responsibility for the persecution of Falun Gong. If a citizen is deprived of his/her nationality just because they practise Falun Gong, this is a serious violation of human rights. I will appeal to the international human rights organisations, the French Government, the media and The World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. That is why I want you to tell me the phone number of the person responsible for this matter. I also would like to let you know that those who persecuted Falun Gong, including Jiang Zemin, Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Sun Jiazheng, etc. have been sued overseas. More and more Chinese people have come to know the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong. Everyone who participates in this oppression will eventually be held responsible for their actions.”

Secretary Liu said, “I know, but I am simply a clerk. I can only ask you to wait for the outcome at home.”

Wang: “Then can you tell me your phone number so that I can contact you?”

Liu: “No, I’ll contact you when I get instructions from the authorities in China. I have your telephone number.”

On July the 1st, after waiting for four months, I went to the Consulate again, and asked two clerks in a reception room about my application for my passport renewal. I said, "Secretary Liu once asked me to go home and wait for your notification, but I haven’t got any message from you after four months has elapsed.” One of them called Secretary Liu, telling him that I was there to query about the progress of my application. After talking to Secretary Liu, he told me that the clerk dealing with my case was not in the office that day, and asked me to come back some other time. I pointed to the initial L on the receipt and asked him if it meant that Secretary Liu was the person dealing with my case. But he gave me a negative response. I thus asked if I could talk to other people in charge; however, they kept quiet. I further told them that the Chinese Embassy should be responsible to Chinese citizens, and that they should not deny my application without reason. I said, ”Isn’t it because I practise Falun Gong that you treat me this way? Isn’t it because you feel your reasons are unjustifiable that you dare not answer my questions?”

I talked to the people in the queue behind me and said: “The Falun Gong practitioners in China have been cruelly persecuted. Now they are shot by murderers hired by the Jiang regime in South Africa. The reason for Falun Gong practitioners appealing outside the Embassy is that they want to let people know we cannot tolerate these kind of atrocities to be continued any longer.”

One of the clerks asked me not to spread the information there and the other stared at me and said, “Where is the evidence?”

I said, “Those practitioners were to sue Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai, who should take most of the responsibility for the persecution of Falun Gong. The practitioner who was shot wore clothing with the words ‘Falun Dafa’. It is evident that the motive for the shooting was against Falun Gong. Who has persecuted Falun Gong, and who are most afraid of the lawsuits initiated by Falun Gong practitioners? Isn’t it very clear?"

I once again asked to talk to the person in charge, but they didn’t give me any response. Then I approached a claims counter, and handed my receipt to the people inside. The clerk replied: “This is not the case I dealt with. You should go to the people who gave you this receipt.” I added: “Can you tell who this person is?” She blurted out "Secretary Liu!" Apparently, the receptionist had lied to me just now.

Before the Consulate closed for the noon break, Secretary Liu walked out of the Consulate along with several people. I approached him to ask about the matter regarding my passport renewal. He said "Without instruction, what can I do. You just wait!"

It’s been four months now since I lodged my application, and the matter has been delayed unreasonably in this way by the Chinese Consulate. In the past years, we have clearly witnessed Jiang’s gangster group, simply out of their own personal interest, brutally persecute some one hundred million kind-hearted civilians who cultivate “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance”, cruelly suppress sixty million Christians. They turn a bind eye to the livelihood of tens of millions of people who are unemployed in urban areas and hundreds of millions of impoverished farmers, but they dealt with their unarmed civilians with machine guns and tanks, regardless of their families of an astronomical number of people who have been persecuted. They have already become a real threat to our country and our nation. We would like to urge all the Chinese people, governments of various countries, parliamentarians, media organisations and various international organisations to understand the evil nature of Jiang’s rascal political group, and endeavour to completely put an end to the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.