Hong Kong: Protest at Tiananmen Square Results in the Second Entry Denial

In the morning of August 29th, Swiss Falun Gong practitioner and professional photographer Daniel flew to Hong Kong from Taiwan. After nearly 5 hours of inquiry, he was deported back to Taiwan. Daniel, who married to a Taiwanese woman 4 years ago, was attempting to enter Hong Kong on his Swiss passport. Customs officials didn't provide any explanation for their refusal to grant him permission to enter Hong Kong.

This was Daniel's third trip to Hong Kong. His first visit came shortly before his protest at Tiananmen Square in 2001: He and 35 other western practitioners met on Tianamen Square to protest the persecution of Falun Gong. They were arrested within a few short minutes. This apparently put him onto the Chinese Communist regime's blacklist. He was thus denied entry when he flew to Hong Kong to participate in a Falun Gong event in 2002. And now, six years later, he was refused entry to Hong Kong again, even though he was on a business trip to purchase expensive photography equipment. Customs officials called Daniel's boss to confirm his trip and yet still didn't allow him in.

Such denials of entry are not unique to Hong Kong. For example, In June 2002, during a visit by then Chinese president Jiang Zemin, Iceland officials denied many Falun Gong practitioners' application for visa and detained a group of practitioners at the Reykjavik airport.

In Hong Kong, denial of entry is becoming more common. In 2007, the Special Administrative Government barred a large number of Falun Gong practitioners from entering the city. From June 24th to July 1st, 2007, it was estimated that at least 500 Falun Gong practitioners were not allowed to enter Hong Kong. These practitioners came from Taiwan, Macao, Philippine and Australia. During the deportation process, violence from customs officials was reported. In addition, nearly 300 Falun Gong practitioners either were barred from boarding planes to Hong Kong or could not get a visa from the Hong Kong government.

While Hong Kong claims to enjoy freedom under the "One Country Two Systems" policy, evidently the local government found it necessary to bend to pressure from the Chinese Communist regime despite the cost of its image.