Demonstrators outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sep. 15 call upon the South Korean government to cease its deportations of Falun Gong practitioners to China where they face being imprisoned, tortured and even death. They said it is against international law to repatriaterefugees who will face persecution in China. (Lisa Fan/Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON—On Sept. 6, Seoul immigration authorities, accompanied by local police, forced their way into the home of two Falun Gong practitioners of Chinese nationality, 26-year-old Mr. Jin and his wife Ms. Ma. They arrested the couple for lacking legal status after their applications for asylum had been denied.

Jin is being held in the Foreigners Protection Detention Center of Hwaseong Fortress for immigrants, where he faces imminent expulsion back to China. His wife is out of custody but also faces danger of repatriation to China.

A rally was held in front of the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., at midday on Sept. 15 to urge President Lee Myung-Bak of the Republic of Korea (ROK) not to deport Falun Gong practitioners to China, and to find a way to permit Falun Gong refugees to remain in South Korea.

If repatriated to China, Falun Gong practitioners face the likelihood of imprisonment, torture and sometimes death. Practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that involves doing meditative exercises and studying moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Since 2009, South Korea has sent at least 10 Falun Gong refugees back to China, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC). Currently, 56 Falun Gong adherents residing in Korea have also been denied asylum, and consequently risk being repatriated.

“If sent back, their lives will be at grave risk because the Beijing dictatorship has declared its intention to utterly destroy the Falun Gong movement,” said California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) in a letter sent to President Lee on Sept. 15. Rep. Rohrabacher is senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Rohrabacher’s letter called on the Seoul government to halt any deportations of Falun Gong members to communist China.

Legal Obligations

“No one anywhere—regardless of their social, economic or political status—has the right to torture another human being, either with their own hands, or indirectly by sending human beings into those hands. Indeed, torture is immoral and unacceptable in nations that embrace civilized behavior and the rule of law,” said California Congressman John Garamendi, in a statement read at the Washington rally.

Rep. Garamendi’s moral argument is strengthened by South Korea’s legal obligations. It is a signatory of the UN Convention Against Torture, whose Article 3 says in part, “No State Party shall expel, return (‘refouler’) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture..

Garamendi pointed out in his statement that South Korea is committed not to deport “refugees, who, like the Falun Gong, are fleeing religious persecution,” because it was a signatory of the United Nations Refugee Convention in 1951.

“I urge [ROK] Ambassador Han and President Lee to immediately reaffirm the commitment it made 60 years ago, and to take the first step toward restitution by granting amnesty to Shen Xianzhi and Jin,” said Congressman Garamendi. Shen Xianzhi was reported by FDIC to be a Falun Gong practitioner who is also detained at an immigrant detention center facing potential deportation.

Pressure from Chinese Regime

The Korean Falun Dafa Association (KFDA) has in the past stated that the deportations from South Korea to China are due to their government bending to pressure from the Chinese regime.

Three Falun Gong practitioners of Korean ethnicity appeal to the South Korean ambassador to intervene to stop more deportations of Falun Gongrefugees. The protest occurred on Sep. 15 in Washington, D.C. (Lisa Fan/ Epoch Times)

US–South Korea Alliance

The rally was hosted by Falun Gong practitioner Frank Lee. He said that President Lee (not related) is scheduled to receive the 2011 World Statesman Award next week in New York for his “dedication to world peace and democracy.” The reward is presented by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation that has worked on behalf of religious freedom, human rights, and tolerance throughout the world.

“We urge President Lee to be truly worthy of this award and stop deporting Falun Gong practitioners to face persecution in China,” said Lee.

In his letter, Congressman Rohrabacher reminds the Republic of Korea (ROK) of the support the U.S. provided recently in response to North Korean hostilities in the Yellow Sea.

U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke speaks at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, China on Sept. 13. When the forum’s host, Rui Chenggang, asked Locke a flippant question, Chinese netizens raced to Locke’s defense. (Getty Images)

When a CCTV host posed a flippant question to U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, not only did the ambassador handle it courteously, but Chinese netizens raced to his defense.

Ambassador Locke was interviewed at the World Economic Forum in Dalian on Sept. 14. The host, Rui Chenggang of the state-owned CCTV asked him, “I hear you flew here coach. Is that a reminder that the United States owes China money?”

“As government officials, whether we are officials posted to consulates or to the embassy in Beijing, including members of the president’s cabinet, the general rule is to fly economy,” replied Locke.

Locke went on to say that he represents the American way. He hoped that his openness can help the people of China and the United States learn more about each other, break barriers, and dispel misunderstandings, though there may still be some differences of culture, politics, economics, and philosophy.

Rui, however, continued to rip into Locke’s reply on his blog, saying, “He seizes every occasion and opportunity and spares no effort to publicize and promote American values. He only talks about what is good about the United States, but seldom mentions what is bad about the United States. It’s his job. He is probably someone who likes to be noticed and is the best at showing himself off among all the U.S. diplomatic staff in China.”

Defending Locke

Commenting on the CCTV host’s challenging question, Guangdong lawyer Mei Chunlai told the Epoch Times: “The question was one which Rui, backed by powerful Party members, had carefully constructed to insult Locke. However, because of the common-sense reply, Locke not only was not humiliated, but made Rui look embarrassed. The Ambassador unintentionally made those smug Chinese officials feel quite ashamed.”

“From Rui’s words,” Mei continued, “it seems we Chinese are much better than the United States because they owe us money. We are the creditor. Our country has plenty of money….”

“But the reality is that we have many elderly people who have no money to live, children who cannot afford to go to school, and some mentally retarded children are even sold to work in coal mines. We can’t afford proper natal care, the elderly can’t afford to die, and many people can’t afford health care. Facing this reality, some media have questioned why [the state] doesn’t solve these problems. The officials answered, ‘We don’t have the money,’” Mei said.

Rui’s question has been re-posted everywhere on the Internet. It has been constantly ridiculed and many people think his question was really crass.

“I hope my idol Rui can ask Chinese officials, ‘You always fly first class. Is this a reminder that you owe the people a lot of money?’” commented Li Chengpeng, a well-known blogger. These words have been re-posted more than 22,000 times, and garnered more than 7,600 comments. (Http://t.sina.cn/dpool/ttt/home.php?uid=1189591617&vt=3)

“The comment reminds the rest of us what the authorities would like us to forget as soon as possible, and so has attracted much attention,” Li said.

Another netizen wrote, “I suspect that Rui is an undercover agent for the United States,” since his comment backfired.

As an example of comments to Rui’s own blog, Huang Haoyuan wrote, “Officials from other countries who are industrious and thrifty are considered by Rui to be “show-offs.” Then, what about our own officials who squander public funds?”

From the beginning of his diplomatic assignment, Locke has behaved with simplicity. He flew economy class to China, and he and his family carried their own bags after they deplaned. These simple acts have drawn attention and praise from the Chinese people, but have been attacked by the CCP’s mouthpiece media.

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http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinese-netizens-defend-ambassador-locke-against-cctvs-challenge-61706.html

共同捍卫核心价值

何俊仁指出从七一游行到李克强访港警方采访安排，一连串事件凸显在中共的干预下，香港的核心价值逐渐被侵蚀，“使香港人很有理由关心，也很有理由感到忧虑，大家应团结起来，一起捍卫核心价值。”

何俊仁表示，早前在立法会上曾向保安局长李少光提出质询时，李少光肯定的说蔡佩雯当时不是记者，是非法参与示威活动。何俊仁要求当局提出证据证明，但至今未获回应。

公开审讯呈现真相

何俊仁又指，警方说词矛盾，初时声称没有拘捕记者，其后又诬陷记者是示威者。他表示，此次诉讼就是要厘清事实真相，并要求法庭作出惩罚性的赔偿，以警戒警方剥夺新闻采访自由的行径。

何俊仁强调，这次是香港首宗记者控告警务处长，起诉警方非法禁锢，非法拘留，打压新闻自由，并藉此“制止警方再无故打压记者采访”，而且这只是一个开端，以后会借司法程序，让大众了解事实。”

新唐人实习记者蔡佩雯在会上展示当日在现场采访的照片，她表示愿意挺身而出，捍卫香港的新闻采访自由，她“当日采访新闻被捕，他日其他同行也会遭受同样机遇”，要制止此一违法行为。

总部位于纽约的新唐人电视台香港记者站实习记者蔡佩雯，早前在七一警方清场过程中，被当示威者拘捕扣留超过10个小时。新唐人香港主管对事件表示强烈抗议。香港记者协会和国际记者联会对事件表示十分关注，并发出声明，要求警方解释。人权监察批评警方手法离谱，并质疑当中涉嫌歧视行为。其后国际特赦也召开记者会表达国际社会对事件的关注。◇

http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/11/9/9/n3368094.htm

Hong Kong Journalist Sues Police for Illegal Arrest

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Related articles: China > Democracy and Human Rights

Reporter Kiri Choy (right) sued Hong Kong Police for illegally arresting her. (Pan Zaishu/The Epoch Times)

HONG KONG—Hong Kong-based reporter Kiri Choy has filed a lawsuit against the police for illegal detention.

On Sept. 8, Kiri Choy announced at a press conference that she is suing Hong Kong Police Chief Wai Hung Andy Tsang for arresting her while she was taking an interview on July 1 and for detaining her for more than 10 hours.

She was accompanied by Albert Chun-yan Ho, chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party. Mr. Ho stressed that this was the first lawsuit by a reporter against the police for an illegal arrest, and that the Democratic Party would fully support the lawsuit.

Mr. Ho said that the fact that the Hong Kong Police had continued to detain Ms. Choy even after learning her identity as a reporter was a gross violation of the core values of Hong Kong. “If we don’t have freedom of press, then we’ve lost more than half of our basic freedom of expression.”

He added that from the police’s reaction during the rally on July 1 to the visit by China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang, it is clear that the Chinese Communist Party has interfered with a series of events in Hong Kong.

“The people of Hong Kong have a reason to care and be concerned. We should stand united to safeguard our basic values,” Mr. Ho said.

Mr. Ho said that the police’s accounts of the arrest were self-contradictory. At first, they denied detaining the reporter. Later, they accused the reporter of being a demonstrator. He said the purpose ofthe lawsuit was to clarify what truly happened and demand that the court uphold justice.

He said that this was the first case filed by a reporter in Hong Kong against the police chief for illegal detention and suppression of thefreedom of the press. He hoped the case can serve as a deterrent to the police. The goal is to stand up for the freedom of the press, Mr. Ho said.

Ms. Choy showed pictures of her conducting an interview on the day of her arrest. She said she was willing to step forward to safeguard press freedom in Hong Kong. She said that illegal arrests must be stopped, because “Now I was arrested for conducting an interview. Later other reporters will suffer the same fate.”

Ms. Choy is an intern reporter with the New York-based NTD Television. When the police were clearing out demonstrators on July 1, she was detained as a demonstrator and kept for more than 10 hours.

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The director of NTDTV in Hong Kong strongly condemned her arrest. The Hong Kong Journalists Association and International Federation of Journalists both expressed great concern and demanded an explanation from the police. Human Rights Watch criticized the action and suggested that discrimination may be a factor. Amnesty International also held a press conference to voice its concern.

Read the original Chinese article.

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The officials claimed the station had to be shut down because its broadcasting was disrupting the air traffic in the nearby city-state of Singapore.

When Tan, Gatot Machali, the radio’s executive director, and five others at the station tried to explain that the station was operating legally, the authorities simply darted for the transmission room with one of them trying to break the door’s padlock with a hammer.

“Gatot and I tried to stop them from hammering the door,” Tan said. “But they forcibly opened it using the tools they brought and took two things from the transmitter, one was exciter and one was the audio processor,” two pieces of equipment needed for broadcasting.

Devastated to see their six years of work going down the drain, Tan and Machali rushed outside, hoping to stop the authorities’ cars from driving away, only to find themselves helpless and outnumbered.

While the Indonesian officials held a piece of paper in their hands that they said justified their actions, no copy of it ended up in the hands of Tan or Machali.

“We are very sad. We cannot accept this in a democratic country,” Tan said. “If Indonesia is a country with law. I think the government should respect the law. They have to respect the law. … We are not breaking any law.”

The Indonesian government had previously reassigned Erabaru’s frequency, 106.5, to the station Sing FM. That station, which had been broadcasting on 105.5 FM, transferred to 106.5 immediately after the raid.

Allowing the Sing FM broadcasts on Erabaru’s former frequency calls into question the claim that Erabaru’s broadcasts interfered with air traffic in Singapore.

“You have to prove that [the air traffic interference] really happened,” Tan said. “It’s not just who said, who complained. We have been broadcasting for so many years that there’s no such thing happened. If there’s an air traffic disruption, why is Sing FM broadcasting on 106.5?”

Unconvinced by the air traffic explanation, Tan and his colleagues believe that the forced closure has deeper reasons.

Erabaru’s broadcasts, 30 percent of which are in Chinese and 70 percent in Indonesian, reach a large ethnic Chinese population in nearby Singapore, 150,000 ethnic Chinese on Batam, and heavy freighter traffic, including many Chinese ships, in the nearby sea lanes. Radio Erabaru carries reports on the human rights abuses committed by the Chinese regime against Falun Gong adherents, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others inside China, which greatly annoys China’s communist regime and most likely explains the embassy’s attempts to close the station.

Only after the embassy’s intervention in 2007 did Indonesian authorities in 2008 deny the station’s license, reassign its frequency, and begin a process of other bureaucratic restrictions. In March 2010, a similar raid with broadcasting equipment taken away was carried out by officials who said they were acting because Erabaru did not have a permit to use its frequency.

“I think all these things happened because of the Chinese communist regime,” Tan said. “If it wasn’t for the intervention from the Chinese regime, it wouldn’t have happened like this today. We feel that is very unfair. The government should not listen to the Chinese communist regime, as Indonesia is a democratic country. It should have its own dignity and own ruling.”

“We had been broadcasting from 2005 and we had everything—equipment, manpower, program. Everything was there. … There’s no reason that they were not issuing us a permit,” said Tan.

Despite the 2010 ransacking of the station, Tan and his colleagues repurchased their equipment and were able to continue with their broadcasts. They have sued the government and are waiting for a decision by the Supreme Court. With the Supreme Court not having decided, they were surprised to find authorities in their station again a few days ago.

“We thought this time [since] we were appealing, so they wouldn’t do anything to us,” Tan said. “That was what we thought, so we weren’t prepared. Because the case was still under appeal, they wouldn’t take any action to close down the radio station. We did not expect that they came on Sept. 13.”

If they win the case, Radio Erabaru would be able to get its 106.5 FM frequency back, but in the mean time, Tan said if they continue their broadcasts, Erabaru will have to share 106.5 FM with Sing FM, which would cause mutual interference.

“The most important point is that the court cases should stay in the court, authorities should not take any actions to shut the radio station down,” Tan said. “From what we understand is that they have to wait until the court has the verdict, otherwise they are just not respecting the law here.”

In the most recent case involving Erabaru, a court noted that the station had been treated differently by Indonesian authorities.

On Sept. 6, Machali was convicted of operating a radio station without a license, receiving a suspended six-month jail term with one year of probation, along with a fine of 50 million Indonesian rupiah (US$5,800).

The decision in his case noted that it had been proven in court that there are many radio stations in Indonesia broadcasting without licenses or frequency permits. While they also break the law, they are not charged by the authorities, according to the decision.