Taiwan: Condemning the Hong Kong Government for Illegal Deportations, Practitioners Deliver a Petition to the President

In order to condemn the Hong Kong government for succumbing to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prior to the July 1st events in Hong Kong and violently barring Falun Gong practitioners from legally entering the country, Falun Dafa practitioners in Chiayi, Taiwan presented a petition to President Chen Shui-bian on July 7th, 2007. The petition was accepted by Secretary Jiang Zhiming from the office of the President. Jiang Zhiming expressed gratitude and admiration to the practitioners for holding their ground and standing up for justice, and promised to deliver the petition to President Chen.

Secretary Jiang Zhiming from the office of the President accepted the petition on behalf of President Chen

After the HK government denied entry to Falun Gong practitioners, the practitioners hold banners and clarify the truth on the streets of Chiayi

On July 7th, while President Chen Shui-bian attended a conference in Chiayi, Falun Gong practitioners delivered a petition to President Chen, asking him to personally condemn the CCP for controlling the Hong Kong government and persecuting human rights. Falun Gong practitioners held banners with such messages as "Condemn the HK Government's Atrocities" to help the local people understand the evil nature of the CCP.

Falun Gong practitioner Professor Ai Changrui of Chung Cheng University stated, "From the end of June to July 1st, at least 500 Falun Gong practitioners who held legitimate visas to enter Hong Kong were barred entry and violently deported. These are law-abiding and kind people. We hope that President Chen is aware of the situation and will personally condemn the CCP for manipulating the HK government."

On July 6th, Chiayi Falun Gong practitioners went to the office of the Democratic Progressive Party in Chiayi and handed in a petition to Committee Chairman Chen Maosong, describing the HK government's unreasonable treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. Chairman Chen Maosong said that he felt as if he had experienced the illegal deportation personally, and immediately signed the petition to condemn the HK government. He said that he would report the situation immediately to high-level officials. Chen Maosong indicated that he has always placed the highest importance on human rights.

The same day, Falun Gong practitioners also visited the Chiayi office of the Kuomingtang to present the case. Because Committee Chairman Hu Yizhan was not in, representative Lin Yingcheng accepted the petition. He expressed support and stated that human rights does not have national boundaries, and is a subject that everybody should care about. He said he would give the petition letter to the committee chairman.

According to a July 5th Central News Agency report, while Lu Hsiu-lien, Vice President of Taiwan, was passing through San Francisco on her visit to Central America, she urged the U.S. government to condemn the HK government's deportations. In Taiwan, after Falun Gong practitioners presented the facts of the violent deportation incident to legislators and local governments, Hong Kong's actions were widely condemned.

A Falun Gong practitioner who was deported said that before he was placed on an airplane out of Hong Kong, several HK police officers sincerely apologised to him, saying that they had no choice but were compelled to do so. They had to put on a show for the CCP, but said that they would welcome him in a future visit to Hong Kong.