The Dominion (Wellington, New Zealand): Woman stopped from visiting dying mother

In China it has been outlawed as an [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]. In New Zealand, Falun Gong practitioners are protesting against that harassment. Sarah Prestwood reports.

NEW ZEALAND Chinese resident Sun Li has paid a high price for her beliefs.

The Auckland woman returned to China with her three-year-old daughter last year to visit her dying mother only to be turned away at the airport because she practised Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that uses yoga-type exercises and meditation.

Two months later, her mother died without seeing her daughter or granddaughter. "She called for us from her death bed, but we never got to say goodbye."

The Chinese Embassy in New Zealand had taken pictures of her practising the movements in an Auckland park, blacklisting her from re-entering China, she said.

Ms Li's story is one of thousands of tales of persecution since the Chinese Government outlawed Falun Gong two years ago, labelling it an "[Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]".

Since July 22, 1999, more than 254 followers have been tortured to death in police custody, 50,000 have been detained in prisons and mental hospitals, including 10,000 sent to concentration and labour camps, Falun Gong practitioners say.

On Thursday, New Zealand Falun Gong practitioners met in Wellington to protest against the Chinese Government and give their personal accounts of harassment and repression.

Falun Gong practitioners in New Zealand said they were continuing to be persecuted by the Chinese Government.

The Chinese Embassy is believed to have a list of all practitioners and has reportedly taken pictures of people practising the movements in parks in Wellington and Auckland.

The New Zealand Falun Gong website has also been repeatedly hacked and replaced with Chinese [party' name omitted] material. An e-mail was sent to all subscribers of the website threatening their families if they continued to practise Falun Gong.

Thirty practitioners protested outside the Chinese embassy in Wellington. However, embassy staff denied the accusations, claiming they had no idea who the practitioners were.

[...]

Amnesty International chief executive Ced Simpson said China continued to violate the human rights of Falun Gong followers.

"They have been systematically persecuted and violated. These people include teachers, academics, police, engineers and university students. Their plan to target Falun Gong practitioners is clearly politically motivated," he said.

Wellington practitioner Pylama Armet said violence in China had escalated in the past three months with 35 people killed in police custody last month for practising Falun Gong.

School children had been forced to sign a disclaimer promising not to practice or they would be expelled, she said. Anyone found practising Falun Gong can be legally killed or sent to a detention centre.

"Such crimes of inhumane brutality must be stopped. Right now thousands of people are getting tortured because of it," she said.

Last week, Beijing won its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, alarming human rights activists.

Falun Gong practitioners have said they were indifferent to China hosting the Olympics.