AFP: Beijing's Pressure on Hong Kong Deepens Distrust in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Feb 7, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Taiwanese distrust towards China is deepening as Beijing steps up pressure on Hong Kong to ban the Falun Gong spiritual [group], analysts here say. Persecution of Falun Gong members on the mainland and condemnation of [group] leader Li Hongzhi, living in exile in New York, have only added to doubts over the extent of freedom which Beijing has promised areas under its control, they say. Beijing banned the [...] Falun Gong 18 months ago branding it "[Chinese government's slanderous word]". But it is a legally registered religious group in Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, Hong Kong's tolerance toward the religious group, [...], has wavered in recent weeks. Hong Kong cabinet member Nellie Fong Wong Kut-man Saturday publicly called for the Falun Gong to be banned arguing it was an "embarrassment" and harming relations with Beijing. "This shows that it is never 'one country, two systems' as China had promised," said Chang Ching-hsi, chairman of Falun Gong Research Society in Taipei, and an economics professor at National Taiwan University. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" model, the same political framework Beijing has proposed for reunification with Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949. Under the model, Hong Kong has been promised 50 years of autonomy from Beijing rule in all matters except foreign affairs and defense. But now Hong Kong authorities are under mounting pressure from influential pro-Beijing channels to curb the Falun Gong or even ban it outright. [...] Beijing might fear that allowing Falun Gong to exist in Hong Kong would be an open invitation to challenge its power, said 54-year-old Chang who has been a Falun Gong follower for two-and-a-half years. However, he declined to comment on whether Beijing's crackdown on Falun Gong has deepened resentment among Taiwanese practitioners against reunification with China, saying his society holds no political views. Some 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners from 20 countries joined a two-day event in Taipei late December sponsored by Chang's group in support of their counterparts persecuted in China. "China has clearly violated the 'one country, two systems' principle by pressing Hong Kong to outlaw Falun Gong," said Joseph Wu, deputy director of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University. "It has further intensified the sense of distrust among Taiwanese towards the Chinese government and any form of reunification with the mainland," Wu told AFP. According to a poll released by the cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council six months ago, 60.1 percent of the 1,647 Taiwanese questioned did not believe China's pledge to maintain Hong Kong's autonomy for the next 50 years. The survey also showed that 72.6 percent of respondents refused to reunify with the mainland under the "one country, two systems" model. "Beijing's action (towards Falun Gong) only proves that Taiwanese were right about the Chinese government from the start," said Wu. Falun Gong members insist they have no political agenda and say members are taught how to attain high moral standards and physical well-being through meditation. The number of Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan is estimated to have trebled to around 100,000 since Beijing's nationwide clampdown on the [group] in 1999, added Chang. "The overwhelming publicity that Falun Gong has received during the crackdown and distrust of the Chinese government has brought many new members into Falun Gong from across the island," he added.