An exiled Chinese dissident trying to see his sick mother in her last few days has been turned back to the United States at Hong Kong International Airport.
The New York Times reports that Xiong Yan, a student leader during the Tiananmen protests of 1989, was denied entry to Hong Kong despite his public plea to the Chinese government to allow him to travel to Hunan to be by his mother’s deathbed.
Xiong, now an American citizen working as a Christian minister in the United States Army, was hoping he could gain access to the mainland via Hong Kong. He was, however, promptly sent back to Seattle upon his arrival today.
Xiong Yan
Hong Kong’s immigration department said it would not comment on “individual cases”, but American citizens do not normally require a visa to visit Hong Kong.
Being a dissident, Xiong’s visa application to China has naturally been rejected several times by the central government.
During the 1989 Tiananmen protests, Xiong was wanted by the Communist Party for his involvement in the democracy demonstrations in Beijing.
He fled to the United States in 1992, where he enlisted in the US Army. He served two tours in Iraq.
The Hong Kong government allowed Xiong to come to Hong Kong in 2009 to participate in the candlelight vigil to honour those who perished in the 1989 crackdown.
Photo: Melanie Ko via Flickr
