When Tiananmen Square activist Lu Decheng originally decided to travel to Canada with his refugee status, his efforts were hindered by the Chinese Communist Party. However, human rights and democracy advocates in Canada, who are acting as guarantors, have said they will spare no effort to secure Lu's arrival.
In Calgary, Canada, on March 14, while Mr. Chen, his sponsor, was waiting for Lu to arrive from Thailand, he received an email from the Canadian embassy in Thailand The email stated: "I am very sorry. The Chinese government issued a diplomatic correspondence to the Thai Government. The Thai Government is required to stop Lu Decheng from traveling to Canada." The Thai government refused to allow Lu to leave their detention center. Lu was forced to cancel his air ticket, preventing him from arriving in Canada on time.
Mr. Chen said, "Canada issued Lu a Canadian visa on February 21, and we waited for him to depart for Canada on March 14." Lu's Canadian friends did in no way expect such a sudden turn of events. "Originally he had made all of the arrangements to come over. But when this matter came to the knowledge of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government put the Thai government under much pressure, asking the Thai Government not to release him."
In 1989, during the Tiananmen Square democratic movement, Lu Decheng, Yu Dongyue and Yu Zhijian rushed to Beijing from Hunan to support the student democratic movement, Because they threw eggs and splashed paint on Mao Zedong's gigantic portrait on the wall across from Tiananmen Square, the trio were sentenced to 16 years, 20 years, and life imprisonment respectively . Lu Decheng was released on parole after ten years and fled to Thailand in November 2004, where he applied for refugee staus. He was arrested by the Thai police and was in constant danger of being repatriated.
In Calgary, five human rights and democracy advocates acting as joint guarantors made an application for Lu Decheng to settle down with refugee's status at the beginning of 2005. The main guarantor, Mr. Chen, condemned the persecution of Lu Decheng by the CCP. Chen said he would do his best to rescue Lu to Canada.
Mr. Chen explained, "Lu already had a Canadian refugee visa. Now the Thai government must permit him to leave the detention center. What we can do is to get the western governments and organizations to put some pressure on the Thai government, I'm sure the Thai government is not unreasonable."
Lu Decheng, who was prepared to leave for Canada, was in the immigration and custody center in Thailand. After he got the news, he calmly stated that he would wait for further developments with patience. He also thanked the people who supported him.
Lu Decheng said: "All I can do is wait, now, with such events coming to pass. What we can do is to report to the higher levels so that they can do some work. If we can do this, that would be better. I feel sorry to have made everyone worry and I thank you for all you've done for me."
Now democracy advocates in Canada are beginning to take action. They are asking people from all walks of life in Canada, including human rights organizations and congressmen for help. At the same time, they have also asked the Canada government to negotiate with the Thai government. They hope Lu Decheng will arrive in Canada as soon as possible.
Feeds