Chinese Ambassador Visits Atlanta, Georgia (USA)

About ten Falun Gong practitioners stood waiting near the arriving gate in the airport. Most of us were wearing yellow T-shirts with "China: Stop persecuting Falun Gong" on them. The flight was 2:50 pm in the afternoon. There were also some 50 more people, including students from Georgia Tech, welcoming the Ambassador there. However, when the responsible persons in Atlanta saw Falun Gong practitioners around, they reported to the Ambassador. They decided to take the Ambassador away directly by a police car, without using the gate. The welcoming crowd there dispersed after the Ambassadors unexpected route change. So we were not able to meet him in the airport.

In the evening, the Ambassador gave a banquet in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dunwoody. About 20 practitioners quietly stood in the lobby, waiting to hand a letter to the Ambassador who was about to come out. He was to come out to the Meeting hall at 6:00 pm, but did not come out until 7:30. To avoid seeing us, he actually took the kitchen elevator and entrance. The incident was reported by the Channel 2 Action News.

Since we were not allowed to get into the banquet or conference, we rented three hotel rooms in order to be able to use the lobby.

People in the banquet/conference told us that the Ambassador told the audience that the reason he used the kitchen to exit was one of the "special security measures" he had to take because Falun Gong practitioners were planning to hurt him. Then he went on with the usual Chinese propaganda: Falun Gong is dangerous, 1500 people died, and so on.

The truth is, that under all circumstances, Falun Gong practitioners conduct themselves according the highest standard of behavior. We would never have any physical contact with the conference organizers, officials, and guards. We do not get excited or use a loud voice or even engage in arguments with anyone. Therefore, the Ambassadors fear is just a made-up story for why he avoided us.

We had an opportunity to pass the letter to an Embassy officer when he walked by

Us, but he refused to talk to us. When we asked him to help Xiaohua's case, he said, "They were released on the first day" and quickly walked away. In fact, the couple (Hua and Shean) was kept in custody in the airport for 2 days. Since then, they have been closely monitored round-the-clock, by police. Xiaohua was to return to Atlanta last weekend. However, as far as we know, the police still have not returned their passports.