TWO MORE CHINA DISSIDENTS KEPT FROM INDIA VISIT
India has withdrawn visas granted to two well-known Chinese dissidents, Lu Jinghua and Ray Wong, who were set to attend a China-focussed conference on democracy in Dharamsala.
The withdrawals occurred days after New Delhi cancelled the visa granted to Germany-based Uyghur activist Dolkun Isa, who too was set to attend the same conference that will be addressed by the Dalai Lama. China has branded Isa a terrorist and Interpol has issued a red corner notice for him.
Lu, who is best-known for her role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and figures on a Chinese list of “major criminals”, learnt of the visa withdrawal just as she was about to board a Delhi-bound flight from New York on April 25. The visa for Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ray was reportedly withdrawn at about the same time.
Speaking to HT from New York, Lu, now a US citizen, said, “I had checked in with a copy of my e-visa at the JFK airport and was about to board the flight to New Delhi on April 25. Then, suddenly, an airline official asked me to wait.”
“People were watching me. I felt embarrassed and shocked. I asked why? What was the reason?” But she got no answer.
The 54-year-old activist said she was “very disappointed” with India. “In January, I went to Taiwan. There was no problem. Why did India cancel my visa? If it was China, I would have understood.”
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province.
Government sources in Delhi said Lu’s visa was withdrawn because her documents were “ineligible” and there was an “inconsistency” about the purpose of her visit. In Ray’s case, there was “data inconsistency” in his papers, they said. More than that, an official who didn’t wish to be named said allowing Chinese dissidents to visit India and “indulge in anti-China propaganda” doesn’t fit into New Delhi’s policy for Beijing.
The April 28-May 1 conference is being organised by US-based Citizen Power for China. The group is led by Yang Jianli, who too was involved in the Tiananmen Square protests.
The three visa cancellations within a week, apparently at China’s behest, are likely to trigger criticism against the Narendra Modi government.
India cited the red corner notice against Isa. External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said, “Isa applied for a tourist visa under the electronic travel authorisation system.
After obtaining the visa, Isa stated publicly he was coming to attend a conference, a fact which was suppressed in the visa form and something a tourist visa does not permit.”
The home ministry is now planning to link the Interpol red corner notice database with its e-tourist visa network.
Isa, from the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), has been accused of terrorism and conspiracy to kill people in Xinjiang in China’s remote northwest. The WUC is a grouping of the Uyghur community outside China.