30-SEP-19
POLITICAL ADVISEF' OFF.
852 904 6738
P.0.
NO MORE TRICKS AND DECEPTION, PLEASE
Some people in this world believe that if lies are repeated often enough then they become facts. Imposing a false logic and coherence upon their lies, they cleave ever more tightly to them, continuing to insist upon their correctness even after the entire edifice of deception has collapsed all around them. Lies are lies, however, and can never become truth. Rights and social order are founded upon the rule of law, and no one can be allowed to distort the law, still less to treat it like a piece of tattered old cloth that can be trampled upon at will.
If we examine the course of development of the "Han Dongfang Incident" from its inception down to the present day, it is quite evident which facts have been obscured and which distorted, and abundantly clear which laws have been dismembered and trampled upon.
1. Concerning my expulsion from China, the cancellation of my passport and my denial of re-entry at the border
I entered China via the port of Aotou on August 13, 1993. The following morning, I was seized by police in my hotel room. They forcibly took money from my travel bag to buy me an international air ticket, and I was then thrown back across the border into Hongkong at the Lowu immigration post. Hoping to avoid media coverage of the event, I then waited outside the Chinese customs point overnight and attempted to re-enter China legally the following morning (August 15); but again I was refused entry. These are the clear and unequivocal facts of the matter, and they are well known to everyone concerned.
Wishing to avoid the emergence of a stalemate situation at the border which might have further reduced the prospects of my return, I took the advice of the officer-on-duty who had been charged with blocking my entry into China and decided to return to Hongkong to discuss matters directly with the Hongkong branch of the Xinhua News Agency. As I came out out of the Hongkong immigration area, I was met by a large group of news reporters, to whom I proceeded to recount the whole story of what had happened.
When asked, "Do you think this matter was decided upon by the highest authorities?", I gave what I considered to be a suitably diplomatic answer and one which would allow the government some room to change its mind. "I believe this incident was due to a misunderstanding on the part of the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou city or Guangdong province," I said. "And I believe that as the central authorities hear about it. they will straighten out this misunderstanding."
as soon
Subsequent events, however, proved that I was wrong. On August 16, the China News Agency reported a Xinhua spokesperson's claim that the refusal to allow me to re-enter China had been decided upon by the "relevant department" of the Chinese government in accordance with law. The reason given was my alleged breach of an earlier pledge to the authorities. I continued to assert my
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