November 20, 2003

Falun Gong members outside Chater Garden, Central, protest against the detention of their colleagues on the mainland. Picture by Dustin Shum

The families of two Hong Kong residents who have been arrested in Shenzhen for involvement with the outlawed Falun Gong are pleading for their release, the group said yesterday.

In the most recent case, Wayne Tan Cho-sang, a British passport-holder who owns a garment store in Shenzhen, was arrested a week ago in his office along with three of his staff by members of the State Security Bureau, said Sophie Xiao, a Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong.

The officers told Mr Tan, 51, they had watched him for a long time and he was being put under house arrest for remarks in connection with organizing Falun Gong activities.

On October 30, police arrested Fu Xueying, 28, for distributing Falun Gong CDs. She was sent to a detention center in the city's Nanshan district, but her husband, Fung Chi-man, has not been able to find her there.

The Falun Gong has been banned on the mainland [...] since 1999, but remains legal in Hong Kong.

Three other Hong Kong permanent residents have previously been arrested and sentenced on the mainland for Falun Gong activities, said Ms Xiao. She said Suen Chung-man, 46, and Cheung Yu-chong, 59, were detained last year and have since received jail terms. Another, Chu O-ming, has been given a five-year sentence.

Ms Xiao said the British consulate said it was unable to help Mr Tan because he had entered the mainland with Hong Kong identity documents. The Immigration Department refused to even hear his family's case.

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URL: http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZLPJAISMD.html