A member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of
Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, Chan
Kwok-leung, had his valid home visit permit seized by
Shenzhen customs officials when he was trying to enter
the mainland together with 6 other Alliance members on
April 12, 1999. No reason has been given for the
confiscation of his permit.
Chan, Leung Kwok-hung, Tsang "The Bull" Kin-shing,
Lai Lai-har, To Kwan-hang, Yung Sze-yuen, and Lau
San-ching, all members of the Hong Kong Alliance tried
to enter the mainland through Shenzhen on April 10 to
submit a complaint to the Guangdong Public Security
Bureau concerning the seizure of their home-visit
permits. They claimed that their right as Chinese citizens
to enter the mainland had been violated and there was
no channel to protest the violation in Hong Kong.
It has been widely reported that the Chinese government
has a black-list of overseas and Hong Kong dissidents
detailing the ways to deal with them when they try to
enter the mainland. Wang Xi-zhe, a mainland dissident,
was diverted to Bangkok when he attempted to fly to
Beijing from Seoul. He was not even permitted to enter
Hong Kong for transit. Members of the Hong Kong
Alliance such as Lai Lai-har was not allowed to renew
their home visit permits in Hong Kong.
Chan, whose valid home visit permit was seized by
Shenzhen customs officials on the spot, immediately
staged a protest. He held a poster "Give Back My
Home Visit Permit To Me" at the customs office.
According to another protester, Tsang Kin-shing, the
Shenzhen officials did not pay attention to their
complaints and no reason was given for the denial of
their entry.
Chan said that their cases shown that there had been no
improvement in China's human rights condition. He
expected a reason would be given for the violation of
their right as Chinese citizen, but the Shenzhen officials
did not even bother to explain to them. To Kwan-hang,
one of the protestors who went to Hong Kong in the
evening, said he might try to the mainland again later this
week if the mainland officials continue to ignore their
complaints.
The stalemate ended in 11:00 p.m. when the Shenzhen
customs closed. Leung Kwok-hung, Tsang "The Bull"
Kin-shing, Lai Lai-har, and Lau San-ching, were
escorted back to Lowu (Hong Kong) by Shenzhen
officials. Tsang said it was the responsibility of the SAR
chief excutive C. H. Tung to protect their right, so they
would try to arrange with an appointment with Tung to
voice their complaints.
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