(Clearwisdom.net) On September 16, 2004, Hornsby Advocate, a newspaper
in Australia reported the plight of mother, Ms. Lydia Zhao and her 15-year-old
daughter Manying Yan who reside in Hornsby, Sydney and have been unable to renew
their Chinese passports because of their practice of Falun Gong.
The report said, "A Hornsby mother and her 15-years-old daughter have been unable to renew their Chinese passports and return to China."
The family say the passports have been denied because they practice Falun Gong, a belief system based on principles of "truthfulness, compassion and forbearance".
Lydia Zhao said her daughter, ManYing Yan, was desperate to return to China to visit the grandparents she had not seen for more than five years.
"Everyone who is a Chinese citizen has a right to a passport," Ms Zhao said. "I just feel very sad about my daughter."
ManYing, who is a St Ives High School student, said that without a passport she was stripped of a nationality.
"It is like you don't belong anywhere, " she said.
More than two years ago, Ms Zhao and her daughter went to the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne to renew their passports.
The two are both permanent residents in Australia, having moved from China with Ms Zhao's husband and ManYing's father, Brain Yan in 1995.
Ms Zhao said the consulate questioned her about Falun Gong -- the practice was banned in 1999 by former Chinese Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin.
"I told them I only do exercise in Hornsby Park every morning," she said. "I didn't do anything wrong.."
The mother and daughter did not receive their passports and have since written six letters to the consulate on the matter.
"We haven't heard a single word since that day," ManYing said.
The Advocate made several attempts to contact the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. There was no response.
Practitioners say Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
It is practiced in more than 60 countries and has attracted some 100 million followers.
Another practitioner and Hornsby resident, Lilian Peng, has called on Hornsby Council to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong followers.
Ms Peng said the council should support its residents' right to "participate in the spiritual practices of their choice."
