October 29, 2003, Wednesday

A Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioner who had been detained in Shanghai for 20 days before being allowed to return home a day earlier said Wednesday that mainland China's "white terror" threatens the security of innocent Taiwan people.

Lin Hsiao-kai, a member of the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association (TFDA), said at a news conference that he left for Shanghai Sept. 30 to do some sightseeing and visit friends. But he was arrested by mainland Chinese security authorities Oct. 7 for unknown reasons and was not released until Oct. 27.

On the first day of the detention, Lin recalled that he was subjected to round-the-clock interrogations. "In the following days, mainland security officers continued to interrogate me for seven to eight hours a day."

Lin said they wanted information about Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners and the TFDA's activities.

"Mainland Chinese investigators warned me that they would hunt me down in Taiwan if I revealed what was discussed during the interrogations," Lin claimed, adding that his interrogators told him that they would definitely be able to find him.

Lin said he was shocked to find that his mainland interrogators knew almost everything about his life and work in Taiwan. They had information about his wife, friends and even had an e-mail address he had canceled, he added.

Falun Gong has been outlawed by mainland authorities[...] but it is a legal social [...] organization in Taiwan, where its followers number more than 300,000.

Lin's wife called a news conference last week to call for help to push mainland authorities to release her husband as soon as possible. Her appeal drew concern from lawmakers and human rights activists. Lin said he was lucky to be able to return home safely.

Nevertheless, Lin said he had been traumatized by the 20-day detention in Shanghai. "It was a nightmare and has left me with mental scars," he added.

According to Lin, some 20 mainland China-born TFDA members have been arrested by mainland authorities during visits to their mainland hometowns. Most of them are wives of Taiwan citizens, Lin said, adding that the ROC government should take active steps to urge mainland China to stop persecute them.

Meanwhile, 20 TFDA members began an island wide bicycle journey Wednesday to enhance public awareness of mainland China's suppression of Falun Gong practitioners and to enlist public support for a campaign to push Beijing authorities to release all detained TFDA members.

TFDA President Chang Ching-hsi said it seems to him that the mainland authorities especially like to arrest female mainland-born Falun Gong followers who have married Taiwan men.

At least one of them has obtained Taiwan citizenship, but she is still in jail on the mainland because she is a Falun Gong [practitioner], Chang said.

In another case, a mainland wife of a Taiwanese Falun Gong follower was arrested in September 1998 when she returned to her parents' home in Jinlin in northeastern China. After serving a two-year prison term, she was released on parole, but the mainland authorities still will not allow her to be reunited with her husband in Taiwan.

The 20 TFDA members will cycle around the island to seek the signatures of local people in support of their campaign.