Police Scooped Up 70 Falun Gong Followers Ahead Of Xi Jinping Visit

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Police arrested over 70 Falun Gong followers in Kuala Lumpur prior to the arrival of China president Xi Jinping last month, in an alleged preventive action to silent dissenters of the Chinese Communist Party leader.
In interviews with Malaysiakini, several of the detainees - who were released only after Xi left the country - said they were scooped up by plainclothes cops who raided the group's meeting at a shop lot in Cheras on April 13.
This was just two days before Xi arrived in Malaysia for a three-day state visit.
Max Chua, 45, who is among the some 47 Malaysians detained in the operation by Cheras district police, said the cops cited three potential grounds for their arrests - illegal association, immigration violations, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).
But his wife Jane Teo, 29, who was also detained during the raid, claimed that a deputy prosecutor told a magistrate during remand application that they were being investigated for links to extremism and terrorism.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Mohd Isa, who confirmed the arrests with Malaysiakini, said the group members were suspected of involvement in an illegal organisation.
Max ChuaHowever, both Chua and Teo believed this was only an excuse to detain them.
"The very first question the police asked us was: 'What are your plans when Xi is here?" Chua said during the interview.
According to the couple, the group was not planning any protest against Xi but was gathered there purportedly for a book reading session.
There were 76 of them in total, Chua said, of which 29 were Chinese nationals, including several who are seeking asylum in Malaysia.
He said the detainees were then bundled into four police Black Maria trucks and ferried to the Cheras district police headquarters.
Chua claimed that all Malaysian detainees were only released just before midnight on April 17, hours after Xi had departed from Malaysia.
Jane TeoADSThe foreigners were released in stages later, with some allegedly held for more than 14 days.
There were also allegations of assault by police during their detention. This includes a woman in her 80s who was allegedly injured in the head after she was shoved by an officer.
Falun Gong is a spiritual movement that originated in China in the early 1990s. However, the Chinese government banned its practice in 1999, when thousands of its followers were arrested and imprisoned.
According to an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report last month, during at least seven of Xi 31 foreign visits from 2019 to 2024, local police in host countries detained peaceful protesters, often without valid reasons to shield him from dissent.
Activists were targeted simply for holding signs, requesting to protest, or practising banned beliefs like Falun Gong, raising concerns of international police overreach.
Meanwhile, Xi has expressed satisfaction and described his three-day state visit to Malaysia last month as a great success, according to Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. - Mkini

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