Passport Renewal Denied, Sisters Imprisoned, Brother Tortured For Their Faith in Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)

"Ms Dai Dongxue (34, left), who has been living in Dublin since June 1996, said she had been told by the Chinese embassy here that her application was being refused due to her continuing practice of Falun Gong. [...]

Her case is being backed by Amnesty International's London branch, which has appealed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to intervene on her behalf. In a letter to Mr Cowen, Amnesty said Ms Dai "might face detention and torture" were she to return home.

Citing a similar case in the UK, Amnesty said: "It seems that the Chinese government is using this as a method of intimidating overseas practitioners and of forcing them into exile. [...]

A Microsoft employee and computer science graduate from Dublin City University, Ms Dai has for the past three years been organising Falun Gong classes in Dublin, which she estimates have been attended by "a couple of hundred" people.

She has also been involved in campaigning against the persecution of practitioners in China, including Mr Zhao Ming, a student at Trinity College Dublin who was arrested and had his passport confiscated on a trip home in December 1999."