Singapore Authorities Clamping down on Falun Gong?
The recent clampdown of Falungong by the Singapore authorities strike me as odd considering that the group never faced any problems in their exercises and gathering until the Chinese Communist Party starts to prosecute the same society in China. In Singapore, Falungong is rarely talked about now since the local media prefers to focus on the "evils" of the group, which causes unease among the population.
Perhaps the authorities took offence to the distribution of flyers and vcds which contains information about "evidence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brutality", in which case, could be interesting, since it highlights the perturbing and close relations the two governments maintain.
On the other hand, the Singapore authorities has never been kind to any form of political dissent. The actions of the two women prosecuted by Singapore law once again shows the government's intolerance towards political public expression...
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http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-5-1/28337.html*
Jailed in Singapore For Handing Out Flyers
Pair on hunger strike to appeal conviction
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By Jan Jekielek & Max Dobson
The Epoch Times
*May 01, 2005*
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Worldwide Appeal: In New York, Falun Gong practitioners sit in meditation outside the Singapore consulate. They join others at Singapore diplomatic missions worldwide, appealing the conviction of two fellow practitioners in Singapore. Two women were jailed after passing out fliers and video CD's. Singapore became the first country outside of China to take such legal action againt Falun Gong.
(Jan Jekielek) NEW YORK - A Singapore judge threw the book at two women for handing out fliers and VCD's exposing Communist China's persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Cheng Lu Jin were arrested in May 2004 on multiple
charges, including "assembly without a permit" and "possession and distribution of VCD's without a certificate."
After nearly a year of procedures, the court delivered its verdict last Wednesday. The women were ordered to pay fines of 20,000 and 24,000 Singapore Dollars (US $12,216 and $14,660), respectively. Insisting on their innocence, both refused to pay and have launched an appeal. They are currently in jail, and both are hunger striking to object to the decision.
The Falun Gong peaceful meditation practice is legal in Singapore and everywhere else in the world, save for the People's Republic of China where it was banned in 1999. Singapore authorities arrested Ng and Cheng for distributing information revealing evidence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brutality, the same materials that are regularly handed out in dozens of other countries without incident.
Singapore is notorious for its strict social control and for handing down harsh punishments for seemingly minor offences, such as chewing gum or spitting. Nonetheless, its constitution contains "guarantees of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly," points out Dr. Terri Marsh, American human rights lawyer.
Ng and Cheng's defense counsel asserts that the accused were simply exercising these rights, as guaranteed in the Singapore constitution, and so should not be restricted, especially when they are expressed openly and peacefully.
Falun Gong supporters have gathered at Singaporean embassies and consulates around the world to appeal what's widely seen as an unjust decision. Elaise Poh, a Singapore resident visiting New York, was shocked at the verdict and immediately went to the consulate in Manhattan to voice her opinion.
"The laws don't exist to punish people for doing something good. The courts have
better things to do than treat [Falun Gong] practitioners as criminals," said Poh. Officials at the consulate were unavailable for comment.
Marsh, also lead counsel in several U.S. lawsuits naming top CCP officials for genocidal crimes, made a written statement to Singapore authorities.
"The office of the prosecutor has compromised its responsibility by treating these women's attempt to expose the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China as a criminal act, thereby failing to cognize that the crimes that require redress are those perpetrated by the CCP in China," she asserts. Marsh believes the court ruling may have been influenced by Chinese authorities in order to obscure the issue of who the real criminals are, namely, the CCP.
http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-5-2/28361.html
*Imprisoned Mother Denied Visit with 6-Month-Old Daughter*
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By Wang Chunshan
The Epoch Times
*May 02, 2005*
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Ms. Wang with Ms. Cheng's infant daughter. (Epoch Times) A friend of a Falun Gong practitioner who is imprisoned in Singapore brought the practitioner's 6-month old daughter to visit her mother in prison, but the request for visitation was rejected.
The friend, Ms. Wang, made the request after learning from Singapore's*Strait Times
* that the two imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms.
Cheng Lu Jin, were on a hunger strike and that they may be placed in a punishment cell or given a written warning.
After hearing the news, the friends and family members of the two practitioners were worried. Even though it was a public holiday, some of them brought Ms. Cheng's 6-month old baby to the prison, hoping to visit her.
Ms. Wang said, "I told the prison guard we're friends of Ms. Ng Chye Huay and Ms. Cheng Lu Jin. He said that today and tomorrow are public holidays and no visits are allowed. I showed him today's Strait Times newspaper and told him that the two practitioners had been on a hunger strike for four days. The situation was critical. They then allowed me to take the child inside the prison alone."
Ms. Wang said that she was led to see three women guards. The guards confirmed that Cheng and Ng were on a hunger strike, but refused to give more information. Ms. Wang said that she was very concerned about her friends' safety and would like to see them in person. If that were not permitted, she would like the guards to at least bring the child to Ms. Cheng. Her requests were denied.
Ms. Cheng and Ms. Ng were put in prison on the day of the prosecution, April 27, which surprised the lawyer, the defendants and their family members. They did not have any time to arrange for the child. They thought that even if they lost the lawsuit, they would be able to appeal, and the convicted can usually be released on bail during the appeal period. "We did think about bail, but didn't expect that the judge wouldn't allow any bail at all," Ms. Wang said.
One guard agreed that the judgment of no bail seemed unfair. The guards also said that it was very rare to have prisoners being on a hunger strike. The last hunger strike they remembered was in the 1980s.
Ms. Ng and Ms. Cheng were charged by the Singapore police in May 2004. Each
of them faced eight charges, including "Assembly without a permit" and "Possessing and mailing out uncertified VCDs." After almost one year of hearings, the two practitioners were fined S$20,000 and S$24,000 respectively on April 27, 2005 by the Singapore Court. They refused to accept the verdict and expressed their wish to appeal. They were taken to the Changi Women's Prison on the afternoon of April 27 with the possibility of being imprisoned for up to 24 weeks.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-5-1/28356.html
*Singapore Government's Discriminatory and Suppressive Tactics Towards Falun Gong
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By Zhiyan
The Epoch Times
*May 01, 2005*
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15 Singapore Falun Gong practitioners appeal outside the Chinese Embassy (old address), many police officers kept watch outside the embassy walls (The Epoch Times) In 1996, Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore registered a legal entity under the name Falun Buddha Society (Singapore). To date, the registration has been renewed several times without incident.
Before July 1999, there were dozens of practice sites all over Singapore
Island. They were located in shelter decks beneath government-built housing
(HDB), parks, beaches, the MacRitchie reservoir, etc. The Falun Gong practitioner's outdoor activities were not previously overseen by police, nor were they closely scrutinized. At these practice sites, practitioners offered free exercise instructions to passersby who were interested in learning. They hung up banners with the words "Falun Dafa Cultivation Exercise, Free Teaching," etc. and handed out free information about Falun Gong. All these activities, including gatherings of several hundred people, were allowed without having to obtain permission or approval from the
relevant authorities. This environment lasted until July 1999.
However, everything changed after July 1999. Due to reports about Falun Gong
from China's official news source, that were full of lies and propaganda, being reprinted by local media, the public developed a serious misconception about Falun Gong. Consequently, when the Singapore practitioners practiced the exercises outdoors, members of the public often reported their activities to the police. After receiving such complaints, the police would investigate and on many occasions would stay to keep an eye on the practitioners. This caused people to fear Falun Gong. Often, there were police cars and plainclothes police officers watching the outdoor group exercise gatherings. Also, there were many restrictions on the group exercise permits, such as, being prohibited from distributing flyers, hanging banners, etc. The following are details about three significant incidents.
*Incident 1: Police forced Falun Gong practitioners to stop an outdoor group practice.*
One day, in the middle of 2000, around 8 in the morning, Madam An was practicing near Block 926 on 91 street in Jurong West. A short while later, two policemen arrived and rudely told her to stop practicing her exercises and that she must leave immediately. Madam An told the two policemen that she had been practicing her exercises there for over two years. She expressed her willingness to follow them back to the police station to aid in investigations on whether practicing Falun Gong was legal in
Singapore.
The police did not listen to her explanations and demanded that she not practice her exercises at that site. They even warned her that if she did not leave she would be charged in court. Madam An had no choice but to leave. Later, Madam An went to the police station to clarify the truth. The policeman on duty did not know whether or not it was legal to practice Falun Gong in Singapore. This officer made several phone calls and listened to her explanations. In the end, he realized that indeed Falun Gong as a legally registered society in Singapore.
*Incident 2: Police harassed and detained an 80-year-old Falun Gong practitioner.*
The next incident involved the following four Falun Gong practitioners: Jiang Lihua and Wang Zongbin (80 years old, holding a visitor's pass), Song Ren (pronunciation only), a research student at the National University of Singapore, and Madam Qiu, a Singapore permanent resident.
The Merlion Park in Singapore is a famous tourist attraction. For a long time, Singapore practitioners have been practicing the exercises in that park and handing out flyers to tourists of different nationalities especially those from China.
One afternoon in the middle of 2002, the four practitioners went to Merlion
Park and started to clarify the truth to tourists from China. Several police
officers arrived and questioned them. They asked to look at their identification. As Jiang Lihua, Wang Zongbin, and Song Ren had not brought any identification with them, they politely explained their status to the policemen. However, the police were rude and then insisted on ascertaining the practitioner's identities. They also said that they suspected these practitioners were illegal residents. Even though Madam Qiu testified that the other three were legal residents and the police could investigate
the matter later, the acting officer chose to disregard the two elderly 80-year-old practitioners and brought all three back to the police station. They were only released after their families brought their identification passes to the police station.
*Incident 3:Police issued serious warnings to Falun Gong practitioners for their peaceful appeals*
Around July 20, 2000, which is also the anniversary of the crackdown on Falun Gong in China, approximately 15 Falun Gong practitioners (most of them were Chinese citizens) went to the Chinese Embassy in Singapore to give a letter to the Ambassador, appealing to the Chinese government to stop the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China. The officer at the embassy refused to accept the letter. The practitioners decided to wait outside the Embassy for the Ambassador to accept the letter.
Whilst waiting, they started to practice the Falun Gong exercises. After a
while, the police arrived and took down everyone's ID numbers. In September
of that same year, these practitioners were summoned to the police station for further investigation. All the practitioners were severely warned by the police and told that if they did the same thing again, they would be charged in court.
