By KYLIE MUNRO
Mr
Xianhui, a member of the Falun Gong sect, fears he will be tortured if he returns
to China.
Mr Xianhui, a member of the Falun Gong sect,
fears he will be tortured if he returns to China.
A CHINESE national
who fears persecution in his homeland is cycling from Melbourne to Canberra in
a bid to avoid deportation from Australia.
In Albury yesterday, Tang Xianhui
said his belief in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual practice, would see him jailed
and tortured if he returned to China.
Mr Xianhui has been ordered to leave
Australia before May 25.
A democracy activist, Mr Xianhui fled China in
1997 after his involvement in student movements brought him under intense scrutiny
from government authorities.
He left his wife and son, then six, and has
not seen them since.
In 1999, while living in Melbourne, Mr Xianhui began
practising Falun Gong, which involves slow, gentle exercises and meditation similar
to yoga.
A legal religion in China when Mr Xianhui started practising Falun
Gong, then leader of the Communist Party Jiang Zemin outlawed the movement in
July, 1999.
Mr Xianhui said the aim of his 650km ride to Canberra was to
raise awareness of his plight and that of other Falun Gong practitioners in China.
He also hopes his trip will encourage Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone
to review his case and grant him residency.
http://www.bordermail.com.au/newsflow/pageitem?page_id=951322
Posting
date: 5/May/2005
Original article date: 4/May/2005
Category: Media Report
