The Immigration Department is endangering failed Falun Gong asylum seekers
by forcing them to apply for travel documents from the Chinese consulate in
Sydney, exposing their status to authorities and putting them in danger of persecution,
refugee advocates say.
They are the quiet, constant protesters who are always left alone by police, even during this security-mad week. “We’re trying to raise awareness of the fact that human rights are never on the APEC agenda.”
The Canadians supervised calls to several hospitals by Mandarin speakers purporting to be acting for patients seeking urgent transplants, getting some doctors and officials to admit taking organs from young and healthy Falun Gong prisoners.
Members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong will hold a candlelight vigil outside
the Chinese embassy in Canberra to coincide with the visit of China’s president
Hu Jintao.
International reports have suggested that of the 60,000 organ transplants the China Medical Organ Transplant Association recorded between 2000 and 2005, only 18,500 came from identifiable sources.
