TEETER TOTTER BALANCING ACT FOR FALUN GONG IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000703

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SN CM
SUBJECT: TEETER TOTTER BALANCING ACT FOR FALUN GONG IN
SINGAPORE

REF: SINGAPORE 129

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel Shields for reasons 1.4(d)


1. (C) Summary: While Falun Gong (FLG) practitioners in
Singapore enjoy a certain degree of freedom, problems still
persist. Over the past decade, the organization has seen its
membership drop by more than half. Although FLG has received
little media coverage in recent years, this does not
necessarily imply an easing of tensions between FLG and the
GOS. Rather, the organization and its practitioners have
matured and learned how to tiptoe around authorities to avoid
conflict. Nevertheless, Embassy contacts report that
practitioners and their relatives sometimes face obstacles in
obtaining or renewing work permits, visas, or permanent
residency (PR) status. A negative view of the organization
from the general public makes it hard for FLG to expand its
membership in Singapore. Contacts cited close ties between
China and Singapore as a cause of the obstacles practitioners
face, noting that both governments may have infiltrated the
organization. Consequently, FLG in Singapore faces a tough
balancing act between retaining its somewhat limited ability
to practice and proselytize, and pushing for greater freedom
for its organization and members. End Summary.

Falun Gong Numbers Drop by More Than Half Since 1999
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2. (C) The Falun Buddha Society (FBS),the officially
registered name for Falun Gong in Singapore, has
approximately 300-400 followers, according to FBS president
William Ng (strictly protect). Ng noted that membership in
Singapore numbered well over a thousand prior to the Chinese
government's 1999 crackdown on FLG, but believes that
pressure on the GOS from China created the negative attitude
towards FLG that still prevails today amongst Singaporean
authorities and society. This attitude stems from a number
of sources, including newspaper coverage of the arrests of
practitioners as well as overseas Chinese propaganda
denouncing FLG as an evil cult, Ng said.


3. (C) FLG has received little coverage in Singapore's
mainstream media in recent years, but this may be a result of
self-censorship by FLG rather than a product of decreased
tensions between FLG and the GOS. FBS vice-chairman G.K. Lim
(strictly protect) suggested to PolOff that over the years,
FLG in Singapore has matured as an organization.
Practitioners now know what actions and behavior are not
tolerated by the GOS and know to operate within the
parameters of the law to avoid the media's limelight. The
society organizes morning and afternoon meditation sessions
at over thirty practice sites across Singapore.
Additionally, FBS manages local outlets of The Epoch Times
newspaper and Sound of Hope radio station, both
FLG-associated media organizations.

Group Fears Infiltration by Singaporean and Chinese Agents
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Close Sino-Singaporean relations explain the
heightened obstacles FLG practitioners face in Singapore,
according to Lim. FLG practitioners often have difficulty in
renewing or obtaining work permits and PR status,
particularly before visits of high-ranking Chinese officials,
Lim said. She also noted that because of the mainstream
media's negative portrayal of FLG, Singaporeans are generally
wary of the group, making it difficult to expand membership.
Lim attributed these attitudes to the GOS's desire for
greater support from China on trade and economic issues.


5. (C) Ng and Lim told PolOff they suspect GOS and Chinese
spies have infiltrated the FLG membership in Singapore. In
2007, practitioners reported seeing a man making phone calls
near the practice site at Esplanade Park on a weekly basis.
Each time practitioners spotted the man, Singaporean police
would arrive and disperse the practices or confiscate the
informational brochures being handed out. The practitioners
who raised this case switched practice locations to avoid
trouble from the police.

One Member's Kafkaesque Experiences: The Case of Ma Xiao
-------------- --------------


6. (C) The case of Ma Xiao (strictly protect),who met with
PolOff accompanied by Lim, illustrates some of the
difficulties FLG practitioners may face in Singapore if they
attract the authorities' attention. A citizen of China, Ma

SINGAPORE 00000703 002 OF 002


moved to Singapore in 1999 on a social visit pass (the
equivalent of a tourist visa). She later married a
Singaporean and claimed she had difficulties in obtaining PR
status due to her activity with Falun Gong. Arrested and
fined for participating in an unlawful FLG public assembly in
2000, she nevertheless received permission to remain on
condition of good behavior. Ma applied for Singapore
permanent residency eleven times, and each time immigration
authorities rejected her application without explanation. Ma
noted that other Chinese citizens of her socio-economic
background usually do not have difficulty renewing or
obtaining PR status from the GOS. Her efforts to renew her
Chinese passport have also been unsuccessful since July 2008.
The Chinese embassy in Singapore informed her that her case
was undergoing investigation, and her passport could not be
renewed pending the outcome. Finally, the validity periods
for Ma's Singapore visit pass began to shrink, and in June
2009 immigration authorities extended her pass for only two
weeks, to expire July 10. Lim was unwilling to tell PolOff
whether Ma ultimately had to depart Singapore after July 10,
citing "safety concerns."

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
SHIELDS