7 Jan 2006

A dozen Falun Gong adherents staged a peaceful rally opposite the Chinese embassy yesterday, calling for the release of five Chinese followers being detained at the Bangkok immigration office for nearly three weeks. They vowed to hold a meditation protest every Friday until the police free the five detainees.

The gathering also protested against the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong followers.

[...]

Paisal Suriyawongpaisal, a scholar on China and a Falun Gong practitioner, said the Thai public should learn more about how Beijing has violated the human rights of its own people. He also condemned the arrest of Falun Gong [practitioners] by Thai officials last month, saying the detention demonstrated that Bangkok considered appeasing China more important than the protection of basic human rights.

Eight Chinese refugees, who are [adherents] of the spiritual movement, were arrested after protesting in front of the Chinese embassy for a week.

They were all persons of concern under the protection of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Two young practitioners were released right away but another six protesters, including four-year-old Huang Ying, were detained at the Immigration Detention Centre at Soi Suan Plu.

Huang Ying was released from the detention centre to family friends last week, but her father is still behind bars.

''We are concerned about their plight since we've learned that the officers will not release them soon. We've already filed a complaint to the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva,'' said Canadian Jan Jekielek, a member of the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group.

A 14-year-old girl, Wang Anqi, who was earlier arrested and released, said the police have asked the UNHCR to guarantee that the detainees would not stage a protest again.