By Steve Connolly
July 02, 2004
AN Australian man wounded in a drive-by shooting in South Africa alleges he was the target of gunmen hired by the Chinese government.
Sydney man David Liang, 41, a follower of the religious group Falun Gong which is outlawed in China, is recovering in a South African hospital from gunshot wounds to his feet.
Mr Liang was among nine Australian-based Falun Gong members who entered South Africa on Monday to protest during a visit there of Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and Commerce Minister Bo Xilai about China’s human rights abuses.
Five of the protesters became lost travelling to Pretoria from Johannesburg Airport and their car came under fire from another vehicle.
Mr Liang, who was driving the car, accused the Chinese officials of hiring hit men to kill the Falun Gong group.
The shooting has been major news in South Africa this week.
“We did not see them, but we think that the vice-president and the minister have hired people to kill us,” he said from the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
“After shooting at us, they did not rob us and simply sped away. We are sure the Chinese government is involved.”
The Chinese Embassy in Pretoria dismissed the allegations as ridiculous.
An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman (DFAT) today said the attack was believed to be a random shooting but police were still investigating the incident.
A South African police spokesman said: “I would advise the media that it is not fair for them to take only one side of a story and say it was an attempted assassination.
“Our job is to investigate what happened and only then will we be able to determine what was the actual case.”
A friend of Mr Liang and fellow Falun Gong practitioner in Brisbane said today that the evidence was pointing to a “premeditated shooting”.
“The driver (Mr Liang) was the only one in the car wearing a Falun Gong jacket and he was being targeted,” she said.
She said Mr Liang and the other Australian-based Falun Gong members in South Africa feared for their safety.
The DFAT spokeswoman said Mr Liang was expected to return to Australia on the weekend.
Posting Date: 2/Jul/2004
Article Date: 2/Jul/2004
Category: Media Report
