Japan: Falun Gong Practitioners Petition at Singapore Embassy

On the morning of May 1, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Japan petitioned in front of the Singapore Embassy to Japan. They requested that Singapore stop assisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with the persecution of Falun Gong, and took this opportunity to tell people about the withdrawal of a million people from the CCP.

Practitioners appeal in front of the Embassy, submit a letter to the Ambassador, and a representative for the practitioners is interviewed by the media

According to reports from minghui.ca [the Chinese version of Clearwisdom], in May 2004 two Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Cheng Lujin from Singapore were charged with, "Assembly without a Permit" and "Possession and Distribution of VCDs without a Certificate" as well as six other charges. The Singapore court convicted them on April 27, 2005. Ms. Ng was fined 24,000 Singapore dollars, while Ms. Cheng was fined 20,000 Singapore dollars (1 Singapore dollar is about 0.61 US dollar). The two practitioners refused to accept the verdict and expressed that they would file an appeal. They were taken to the Changi Women's Prison the same evening.

The unjust sentence by the Singapore court has aroused great attention from Falun Gong practitioners throughout the world and people from different walks of life. At 10 a.m. on May 1, several dozen Falun Gong practitioners in Japan gathered on the street opposite the Singapore Embassy in Japan. They unfurled banners that read, "Singapore: Do not act as the CCP's accomplice in the persecution of Falun Gong," "Singapore: Stop assisting the CCP to suppress Falun Gong," "Falun Dafa is great," "More than 1,890 Falun Gong practitioners have been murdered in China," and so on. Practitioners also displayed posters that introduced the worldwide spread of Falun Dafa and the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in China.

A representative of the Japanese Falun Dafa Association, Mr. Tsuruzono Masaaki, delivered a letter addressed to the Singapore Ambassador to the First Secretary of the Singapore Embassy. The letter stated that, surprisingly, this case indicated that in Singapore, a country ruled by law, the law is not being used to protect people who uphold their conscience. Instead, the law is being abused to suppress people's freedom of speech and belief. Sixteen years ago, because the Prime Minister of Singapore supported the Chinese communist dictator's massacre of innocent students and citizens in Beijing, Singapore attained a notorious reputation. Today, while the international society is condemning the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, the Singapore government assists the CCP to oppress Falun Gong. It is really a shame. We demand that the Singapore government overthrow the verdict and handle the case in accordance with the law.

Mr. Tsuruzono Masaaki said, in an interview with this reporter, "The Singapore government incorrectly arrested and detained Falun Gong practitioners. We come here to ask them to immediately release the innocent practitioners. We call on the Singapore government not to bow to the CCP. For the sake of the government and the people's future, we come here to peacefully appeal. We will also set up an appointment to meet with the Singapore Ambassador. Over the past six years, through practitioners' persistent endeavours to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to governments and people across the world, the international community has already learned about Falun Gong. In addition, more than 1,000 proclamations have been issued throughout the world to honour Falun Gong. Countries with a sense of justice all condemned the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. Japanese authorities also acknowledged the Falun Dafa Association and its qualification to be a Non-Profit Organisation. It is really sad that such an incident has taken place in Singapore, also an Asian country. Since the Epoch Times published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party last November, more than 1.2 million people have openly published their statement of withdrawal from the CCP and its related organisations. We hope that the Singapore government will be clear about the situation, and stop acting as an accomplice to the CCP just before the CCP collapses."

Because the appeal was on a Sunday, a practitioner said that he called the emergency number of the Singapore Embassy but could not reach anyone. The First Secretary of the Singapore Embassy came out after the practitioners petitioned for a while. When reporters asked him to comment on this issue, he said awkwardly that he had no comment at the moment.