Chinese Embassy in Dublin Refuse To Renew Falun Gong Practitioners' Passport

DUBLIN, June 25, 2002 (Irish Falun Dafa Information Centre) – The Chinese Embassy in Dublin has refused to renew Ms. Dai Dongxue’s passport for the third time in less than 2 years.

After visiting the Embassy on the morning of Monday 24th June, Ms. Dai was informed that her passport would not be renewed again, due to her persistence in practicing Falun Gong and exposing its’ persecution in China.

Denied Three Times

Ms. Dai, 37, had firstly requested a renewal of her passport in August 2000, which was to expire in February 2001. The Embassy staff refused, without supplying a letter of explanation or written confirmation of the denial.

On the 27th February, Ms. Dai again called the Embassy about her passport. Mr. Wang, the Secretary of the Embassy, made it clear that her passport would only be renewed if she denounced Falun Gong, meanwhile claiming that she had broken Chinese law by practicing Falun Gong.

This Monday, Ms. Dai again went to the Embassy to request for a renewal of her passport. This time, the Embassy representative refused to entertain Ms. Dai’s request, as Mr. Wang had already refused the application.

Later, after receiving a phone call, the Embassy representative said "I just won’t do it for you, I just won’t do it for you" adding " [there is] no reason, no need [to] explain this to you".

Typifying the persistent spirit of Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Dai commented that she was going to "appeal outside the Embassy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (the official embassy working days)", until she receives her passport.

Comment

The Chinese Embassy in Dublin commented that they "should cancel his or her passport [...] should he or she cause damage to the honour of China [...]"

Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.” Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

Since President Jiang Zemin banned Falun Gong in 1999, the Falun Gong Information Centre has verified details of over 428 deaths. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600. Over 100,000 have been detained, with more than 20,000 being sentenced to forced labour camps without trial.