Austrian Falun Gong Information Centre: Help Appears for Mr. Wang whose Passport Extension was Refused by the Chinese Consulate in Vienna

A Happy Ending follows Mr. Wang’s Temporary Loss of Citizenship

Thanks to the efforts of the Austrian Government and many supporters, Mr. Yong Wang, from Austria obtained an Austrian passport on November the 4th 2004 and is now able to travel freely again.

Mr. Wang, who practises Falun Gong in Austria and has been campaigning for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China, was told in mid July 2004 by the Chinese consulate that his Chinese passport would not be extended. In the face of this type of harassment, he and his Austrian family members appealed for help from the Austrian Government. The regional government of Northern Austria showed great understanding for Wang’s situation and speeded up his application for Austrian citizenship.

Mr. Wand said: “My family and I are very happy and grateful that so many people and government offices, especially the regional government of Northern Austria, have helped us to quickly and efficiently apply for Austrian citizenship. My family and I can travel together again. In addition, I am no longer prevented from doing my job because I can now go on business trips abroad for my employer again. We would also like to thank the Foreign Ministry who promised their help with problems during the process of obtaining the Austrian citizenship. I would especially like to thank our elected representatives and the journalists who contacted the Chinese Consulate about my case. Thanks to those news reports, many people were able to learn not only about my personal fate and help me, but also about the persecution in China. We hope that no other family in Austria will have to suffer a similar ordeal.”

Chinese Officials continue to Persecute Practitioners Abroad

Although the Wang family experienced a ‘happy ending’, in at least eighteen other countries the Chinese authorities have refused to extend the passports of approximately sixty other Chinese citizens because they practise Falun Gong. Although the West views passport denials to be mere cold war relics, they have become a worldwide Chinese phenomenon. Many Chinese people cannot escape the persecution although they live in free Western societies. Inside China, torture and ‘re-education through forced labour’ are applied, while abroad, Chinese officials use passport refusal as an instrument to put pressure on Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in order to bring them back to China, where they are then silenced. In the last few months, similar cases surfaced in Switzerland and Belgium.

Unfortunately, in addition to Chinese people living abroad, citizens of western countries have increasingly become victims of the persecution by Chinese officials since July 1999. In the last month, the International Society for Human Rights in Austria has published a detailed report about human rights in China. In the seventy-page report, several examples that occurred within the last five years were examined in detail, with special emphasis placed on harassment by Chinese officials of Austrian Falun Gong practitioners or practitioners residing in Austria. “The chronological outline of this document uses Austria as an example to demonstrate the expansion and increasing intensity of the persecution in the west, although Austria is definitely not an isolated example but rather one country among many where these phenomena are evident.” (Excerpt from the human rights report of the International Society for Human Rights (IGFM), Austria). Almost at the same time, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution demanding that the Chinese regime stop its harassment of Falun Gong practitioners residing in the USA.

Voice of Hope

“Following the suffering of the last three and a half months, I have acquired great respect for the liberties and human rights we enjoy in Austria. Consequently, I sincerely appeal to the Austrian public, to protect our own citizens from discrimination and persecution by Chinese officials. Recently, I have been increasingly reminded of the suffering victims in China who are not as lucky as my husband. I hope that in the future, we will be able to help them and put a stop to the gruesome, deceitful, bloody and tear-drenched persecution in China.” – Mrs. Roswitha Wang-Moritz

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Background of Falun Gong

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional practice of meditation originally from China, which is already being practised in sixty countries around the world. In addition to the exercises, special emphasis is placed upon a lifestyle incorporating the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance, values that are deeply rooted in Chinese culture for thousands of years.

Since July the 20th 1999, at the instigation of former head of state Jiang Zemin, Falun Gong has been irrationally persecuted in China. Hundreds of thousands have been arrested since July 1999. More than 100,000 practitioners have been sentenced to years in labour camps, usually without due legal process. The persecution in China touches every facet of life: the loss of jobs and homes, the expulsion of students from schools, forced abortions and forced divorce. The Falun Dafa Information Centre has obtained information about more than 1099 deaths due to torture in police stations and labour camps. The true number is probably several times higher.