November 5, 2005

Jonathan Li

Four Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners who were refused entry to Hong Kong to attend a religious conference two years ago have won a legal victory in their bid to discover why they were put on the Immigration Department's "watch list".

Justice Michael Hartmann of the Court of First Instance yesterday ordered the Director of Immigration to reveal whether the department possessed any material sought by the four practitioners - Theresa Chu Woan-chyi, Liao Hsiao -lan, Lu Lih-ching and Chang Jenn-yen - that would shed light on why they were placed on the watch list.

However, even if the department acknowledges the existence of such documents, it could still avoid disclosing them by applying for public interest immunity.

The four were stopped at Chek Lap Kok airport in February 2003 after arriving from Taiwan to attend the Hong Kong Falun Gong Experience Sharing Conference, organised by the Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa.

They were among 83 overseas Falun Gong practitioners refused entry to Hong Kong at that time - including 80 from Taiwan.

Justice Hartmann said it was understandable that the four would be anxious to find out why they were refused permission to enter Hong Kong and the "core basis" upon which the decisions were made. "The core basis, of course, involves a journey of discovery to the original process of intelligence gathering and a consideration perhaps of the accuracy of the information gathered," he said.

A spokesman for the Security Bureau said last night it would study the decision in consultation with the Department of Justice before deciding the way forward.

In September this year, the four made a "discovery application" after learning from court affirmations by immigration officers that they posed a security risk to Hong Kong.

In April 2003, they were granted leave to launch a judicial review of the Director of Immigration's decision to deny them entry to Hong Kong.

They argued in the judicial review application that the decision of the immigration director was unlawful and unreasonable because it was made on the grounds of religious affiliation.

Ms Chu was first denied entry when she and a group of fellow Falun Gong practitioners from Taiwan traveled to Hong Kong in June 2002.

She was allowed entry in January 2003 to attend a business conference, but was again refused entry the following month to attend the religious conference, despite having a valid visa.

The documents sought by the four under the discovery application include entries and other data in the watch list relating to them. They also sought records of the dates their names were first placed on the watch list. They additionally sought documents that provide general guidance to Immigration Department staff in processing the entry applications of visitors whose names appear on the watch list.

Kan Hung-cheung, a spokesman for the local chapter of the Falun Gong, and the Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa, are co-applicants in the discovery application.