- Title: JAPAN: Chinese human rights activist camps out at Narita airport
- Date: 25th November 2009
- Summary: NARITA, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NARITA AIRPORT SIGN READING "NARITA AIRPORT TERMINAL 1" VARIOUS OF ARRIVING PASSENGERS (2 SHOTS) CHINESE PROTESTER FENG ZHENG HU WALKING IN AIRPORT FENG STANDING BEFORE ARRIVING PASSENGERS PROTEST MESSAGES ON BACK OF HIS T-SHIRT READING "CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS" AND "RETURN TO CHINA" (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE PROTESTER FENG ZHENG HU SAYING: "I have a visa to stay in Japan. But this time, police in Shanghai used violent measures and sent me here. It was like kidnapping. That's why I'm protesting and refusing to leave the airport. I want to return to my own country." ARRIVING PASSENGERS VARIOUS OF FENG STANDING AS ARRIVING PASSENGERS WALK BY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE PROTESTER FENG ZHENG HU SAYING: "I published a book in China in the past and received a three-year sentence. It's a major injustice. Since then, I've been working for the freedom of publishing in China." PROTEST MESSAGE ON FRONT SIDE OF FENG'S SHIRT READING "CHINA SHANGHAI - CHINESE CITIZEN HAS BEEN REFUSED TO RETURN TO CHINA EIGHT TIMES." (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE PROTESTER FENG ZHENG HU SAYING: "The reason why I wear this T-shirt with protest slogans is to draw people's attention to human rights in China. I hope that all Chinese people will be able to return their own country freely." FENG WALKING IN AIRPORT
- Embargoed: 10th December 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA9TJAT12P230N48Q9QIXO3NPB
- Story Text: A Chinese human rights activist has been camping out at Japan's Narita airport east of Tokyo for nearly three weeks in protest of Chinese authorities' decision to ban his re-entry to China.
Shanghai-native Feng Zheng Hu, 55, says he was rejected by Chinese authorities to reenter China eight times this year.
At Narita Airport Feng has been sleeping on a couch since November 4, protesting against what he calls human rights violations by Chinese authorities.
"I have a visa to stay in Japan. But this time, police in Shanghai used violent measures and sent me here. It was like kidnapping. That's why I'm protesting and refusing to leave the airport. I want to return to my own country," Feng told Reuters on Tuesday (November 24).
The former Shanghai university professor has spent three years in Chinese jail for "illegal business activity" after writing a book in 2001 about Japanese companies operating in China.
"I published a book in China in the past and received a three-year sentence. It's a major injustice. Since then, I've been working for the freedom of publishing in China," Feng said.
Narita airport officials are puzzled, not knowing exactly how they should treat the Chinese activist.
Because Feng refuses to enter Japan, he has been living in an area between an arrival terminal and the passport control, eating food that arriving passengers donate to him.
"The reason why I wear this T-shirt with protest slogans is to draw people's attention to human rights in China. I hope that all Chinese people will be able to return their own country freely," Feng said.
ENDS. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None