JULY 1, 2007
Posted July 26, 2007
Ko, I-Chun, Sound of Hope Radio Network
ATTACKED, HARASSED
Ko told a press conference in Taiwan that she was illegally detained for nine hours at Hong Kong airport, assaulted by police, and deported the following day.
Ko said 15 Hong Kong police officers seized her while she took pictures of Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners in the airport’s international zone. According to the reporter, the pictures were to be used on the radio station’s Web site. Ko said she suffered abrasions on her neck, torso, and legs.
She said she was deprived of food and water while in police custody. Ko, who recounted the incident in a July 3 news conference, said police choked her, tied her down, and confiscated her equipment. She said they rolled her into a rug and forcefully carried her onto the plane back to Taiwan.
Falun Gong practitioners from Taiwan traveled to Hong Kong on the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule to protest the government’s actions against the religious movement. The central government in Beijing has outlawed the Falun Gong and has banned any news coverage of the group.
Sound of Hope Radio Network is a Falun Gong-affiliated news network based in the United States. Ko is based in Taiwan.