Secretary of State
Home Office
DEPORTATION OF LILI LIN
I am writing on behalf of Lili Lin who is at this moment detained at Manchester airport for deportation to China. Her life will be in immediate danger the moment she steps on Chinese soil.
If we look back in history, during World War II, the UK would never have returned Jews to German occupied countries, regardless of whether more or fewer Jews had been killed in the area the refugee was from. Moreover, Lili is sixty days pregnant. It would be extremely dangerous for her and her unborn child to be sent back to a hostile environment where she could be detained and tortured at any moment, especially as China is known to use late-term abortions to force female Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs.
Lili Lin, 28, applied for asylum in Manchester in October 2001 on grounds of being a practitioner of Falun Gong. Then she moved from Manchester to Liverpool to live with her husband, Jinfei Zhang, a PhD student at Liverpool University.
She informed the Home Office of her change of address and has been reporting to the Home Office in Liverpool regularly.
At 3pm, 26th February 2003, as usual, Lili reported at the Home Office in Liverpool. Without warning an immigration officer announced that she was to be deported immediately. She asked to see her husband, but was refused. Four policemen came up, pressed her down to the floor, and dragged her into a room, where she was locked until 8.30pm. She was not given any food or water when she was locked in there. They then sent her to a deportation centre in Manchester.
There must be a misunderstanding somewhere. Lili is not a criminal. Neither is she attempting to hide herself from the immigration authorities.
We urge you to look into the matter immediately. Sending Lili back to China would a deadly mistake. The Chinese Government's persecution of Falun Gong is well known. Hundreds of practitioners have been killed and thousands of practitioners are in 'Re-education Camps'. There is no doubt that the Chinese Government knows this family's involvement with Falun Gong. Failure to protect this family will result in a tragedy, which the British Government and public will be sure to regret.
The European Falun Dafa Association has verified details of 580 deaths since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labour camps, typically without trial.
We look forward to receiving your urgent attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Jauhal
Chairman
European Falun Dafa Association
Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200303/10657.html
Category: Rallies & Protests
