Sydney Morning Herald: [Falun Gong] Friction (excerpt)

Date: 08/19/2000

[Editor's note: Falun Gong has no political agenda.]

During more than 50 years with the [Chinese government] in power, fear and cycles of outright terror have been the cement that binds the People's Republic together. This pattern of rule continues today. Human rights groups and many governments openly condemn Beijing's efforts to stamp out political and religious dissent and suppress groups like Falun Gong.

In its annual survey on China's human rights performance, the US State Department says China's record "deteriorated markedly" through 1999.

Despite the climate of oppression, many of the estimated millions of Falun Gong devotees in China have shown no sign of buckling under the weight of a crackdown that has seen tens of thousands arbitrarily detained and led to widespread allegations of torture, beatings and deaths in custody.

This extreme response to Falun Gong's apparently harmless and peaceful combination of Eastern philosophical teachings, meditation, exercise routines and deep breathing exercises shows how alarmed the [Chinese] Government feels about any challenge to its monopoly on power. [Editor's note: Falun Gong in fact doesn't not involve special breathing techniques.]

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On the anniversary last month of the banning of the [group] in China, determined Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Tiananmen Square to perform their tai chi-style exercise routines in the certain knowledge that they would be pounced on and unceremoniously dragged away.

While this ongoing campaign against the [group] in China is common knowledge, the Howard Government has been reluctant to publicly acknowledge that Chinese diplomats and their agents have also been attempting to curb the activities of Falun Gong on Australian soil.

Going into this week's human rights talks with a Chinese delegation under the leadership of the Vice-Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, Australian officials confirmed that they would broach the subject of the treatment of Falun Gong believers in China, but made no mention of the complaints of harassment and intimidation in Australia.

While the Prime Minister, John Howard, publicly condemns the show trial and jailing of the former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on trumped-up charges, he remains silent on what has been a grim year in China.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police have known for months at least that the [group]'s followers in Australia were being targeted, but the Government has declined to speak out.

ASIO agents have approached a number of people to warn them about the campaign - a sign that the security services are closely monitoring the activities of Chinese diplomats and the large number of Chinese agents believed to be active in Australia.

It wasn't until the Herald reported on the harassment campaign this week that Downer acknowledged, against the advice of his senior officials, that these complaints had already been raised with the Chinese embassy in May and again at this week's talks.

It appears that one reason the Chinese authorities have extended their campaign of suppression offshore is that Falun Gong is one of the first mass movements of its ilk that has adopted the Internet to spread its message and co-ordinate its activities.

This means the [group]'s followers outside China, including the estimated 2,000 in Australia, can play an important role in reinforcing and supporting their fellow practitioners.

Some of the movement's Australian followers, mostly of Chinese descent, have been [showing] their attempts to visit China to protest against the official crackdown. Two are in custody in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Local followers believe that they have been the target of a major campaign of intimidation that has included surveillance and monitoring, vandalism, phone tapping and direct pressure from Chinese diplomats.

A well-known Sydney Falun Gong follower, Michael Lam, says the heavy tyres of his new 4WD were slashed when it was parked outside his Surry Hills home.

When he reported the matter to the police, he says he was told that the vandalism was the work of a "professional" and that it was not random damage.

Later, when he became concerned about the privacy of his telephone, he says technicians found that the junction box at his home had been tampered with.

Another Sydney-based [group] member, Li Qizhong, says his car has been broken into, although all that was stolen was some [Falun Gong] literature.

"I don't think the thief was interested in Falun Gong," he says. On another occasion, his parked car was rammed so hard that the rear was caved in.

A diplomat from the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney has also telephoned him to complain about the [group]'s activities, he says. And a Canberra [group] member, Jasy Fu Luanqing, says she has recognised a Chinese diplomat watching her group during its regular exercise meetings at Glebe Park in the city centre.

She says she has not reported her fears, but was contacted by an AFP officer who warned her that she was being followed.

Then when she placed the group's literature at community information centres in Canberra, it was immediately removed. She also claims Chinese shopkeepers have been pressured to removed the Falun Gong newsletters and magazines she used to leave on display.

The Herald has established that Chinese diplomats have contacted councils in Sydney and urged them to deny Falun Gong the use of community facilities for meetings or for demonstrations.

In response to the Howard Government's private complaints and the Herald's reports this week, the Chinese embassy has denied all claims of harassment.