‘WE’RE NOT AFRAID OF PERSECUTION’ Meditation group warns against fake members seeking asylum

Leaders of the Chinese meditation group Falun Gong on Saipan warned the federal government yesterday against people who may be misrepresenting themselves as practitioners to apply for asylum in the United States.

“We are not allowed to use the name of Falun Gong to apply for asylum. True believers and practitioners won’t use the name of the group in vain to achieve a goal, ” said a group member Han Chen.

China banned the meditation group on July 22, accusing it of serving as a political power that would smash a plot to split the nation.

More than a hundred Falun Gong practitioners have been locked up since Chinese authorities launched a crackdown on the outlawed group.

Falun Gong is believed to have 100 million followers all over the world.

“Our government is afraid of seeing a gathering of too many people,” said Leung Yic, one of the group’s founders on Saipan.

Falun Gong was introduced on Saipan in April last year and has since gathered 100 members who meditate at the American Memorial Park every Sunday morning. (See related story on page 8 )

Lawyer Bruce Jorgensen, who facilitates applications for asylum, earlier said that some of the asylum-seekers who came to his office were Falun Gong members.

“Many people thought that [the ban on the group] was a good excuse to apply for asylum,” Chen said. “We’re not allowed to do that.”

Jorgensen, however, said “the fact that their leader (Li Hong Zhi) has a price on his head” might suggest that members themselves are facing persecution which would qualify them for a refugee status or asylum grant.

“I’d love the to get in contact with them so I can discuss it with them,” Jorgensen said.

Bill Xie, one of the original founders on Saipan, said he knows the real members of the group.

He offers help to the authorities if they need clarification on applications from Chinese nationals who claim to be Falun Gong practitioners.

Chen, Yic, and Xie said they intend to go back to China in the future, but they are not afraid of facing persecution.

“We have nothing to be afraid of; we have done nothing wrong. We only want to become better persons,” said Xie.

Jorgensen, meanwhile, warned Chinese nationals on Saipan against a certain person who tries to scam on garment workers by misrepresenting himself as “the official interpreter” for asylum applicants.

“This person, I was told, is offering discounts for translation job,” Jorgensen said. (MCM)