Forcibly stuffing people into sacks, with their hands and feet bound, and then tossing them onto a vessel may sound like something right out of the Dark Ages, but that is the treatment Hong Kong gave to a number of Falun Gong members just three days ago. Falun Gong members who were barred from entering the territory but who refused to voluntarily board airplanes to be departed were forced into sacks and put aboard planes.
About 90 or so Falun Gong members from Taiwan were denied entry to Hong Kong in recent days, while several dozen other people from Taiwan were also denied entry because their names were either similar to or identical with Falun Gong members on a blacklist. All so that Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
Despite the best efforts of the Hong Kong and Beijing governments, that anniversary had more of the flavor of a wake than a celebration. The celebration were really more like an extravagant funeral for Hong Kong's once-vibrant freedoms of speech and religion. One can't help but feel amazed about Beijing's efficiency in demolishing the seeds of democracy in five short years.
Hong Kong's Security Bureau has repeatedly emphasized that "no one has ever been denied entry due to religious reasons." Falun Gong members were told that their entry was barred for immigration and security reasons. What kind of immigration problems could these people possibly have posed, given that they either had Hong Kong-issued visas or were eligible for landing visas? What kind of security threat could they have possibly posed when they only wished to hold peaceful demonstrations against China's crackdown on their group's members?
These people were barred simply for being Falun Gong members -- a violation of religious freedom -- and because they planned to participate in peaceful demonstrations -- a violation of freedom of speech.
China is no longer content with persecuting its own Falun Gong members, but is doing its best to get other governments to do its dirty work for in their countries. Iceland refused entry to Falun Gong members ahead of Jiang's visit to that country earlier this year. Fortunately, opinion polls later indicated that 90 percent of Iceland's people disapproved of their government's kowtowing to China. In Australia, lawful and peaceful demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy were banned to avoid upsetting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxiuan (
It is sad to see this persecution of Falun Gong members spreading in the international community. It is a shame to see democratic countries bowing to the Chinese bully in this way. Unfortunately, far too many people have become so used to seeing China getting its way that they hardly notice its abuses. The only reason Hong Kong's treatment of Falun Gong members managed to raise eyebrows was the way immigration officials handled the uncooperative people who refused to leave.
The lesson for Taiwan has been clear for quite some time -- "one country, two systems" has been a disaster for Hong Kong. Even those arguing that the territory's economic decline has more to do with the global downturn than the handover can't deny that democracy and freedom no longer have any place there. Hong Kong's path is one road Taiwan does not want to travel.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
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