The Epoch Times: U.N. to Secure Release of Thailand Falun Gong Detainees, Say Supporters

Falun Gong practitioners peacefully protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 6, 2006. (The Epoch Times)

BANGKOK-U.N. officials are working hard to secure the release of five Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested after protesting in front of the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, say supporters of the detainees.

"Based on recent discussions [with the U.N.] we are hopeful that the practitioners will be released within a week. This, however, depends on the Thai government. We've heard talk of [the detainees'] release but no concrete action as of yet," said a Thai supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Falun Gong practitioners were arrested on December 15th, after conducting daily peaceful protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok. The week-long demonstration was to condemn the serial rape of a female Falun Gong practitioner by a Chinese policeman in Hebei province, China. Supporters of the detainees say their arrests contravene the Thai constitution and basic human rights, and were carried out at the behest of the Chinese Embassy. The five Falun Gong practitioners have been jailed at the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre for nearly four weeks.

All of the five detainees hold official refugee status from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Mr. Li Jianhui, who walked to Thailand from China with his wife to escape severe persecution there, was the last of the five to receive full UNHCR protection, on January 6, 2006. Prior to the start of Beijing's crackdown on Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Li had been an affluent businessman in China. He was among the first to be arrested after the communist regime banned Falun Gong. Authorities apparently made an example of him to demonstrate that no one who stuck with the practice would be immune to persecution.

The UNHCR interviewed the five detainees on January 6th to build their cases for resettlement to a third country, though resettlement proceedings can take years. Mrs. Liu Ying and Mr. Wang Yajun launched formal appeals on January 9th to have their cancelled Thai visas reinstated. After consultation with a lawyer, the two contend that that the visa cancellations and the arrests were illegal. Their 14-year-old daughter Wang Anqi, who is not in detention said she was unsure whether the Thai authorities would let her extend her visa, but that she would try.

January 6th also saw Falun Gong practitioners again protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok. Approximately 15 practitioners were present, while police and other government authorities numbered about 30.

According to a Falun Gong website, the protest was to "...denounce the Chinese Communist regime for the pressure it brought to bear on the Thai government that led Thai police to arrest five refugee Falun Dafa practitioners on Thai soil."

Thais need to educate themselves more about the Chinese regime's extreme violations the human rights of Chinese people, commented Paisal Suriyawongpaisal, a Thai China scholar and Falun Gong practitioner attending the protest. He said that helping with this process is another motivation for protesting near the embassy, and added that the protests would continue on at least a weekly basis.

Source http://theepochtimes.com/news/6-1-11/36807.html