Rupert Zhu <rzhu@watmath> (01/22/91)
Chinese Activist Is Refused Entry
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By Jan Wang, China Bureau
The Globe and Mail, Monday, January 21, 1991
BEIJING --- Authorities barred a Chinese activist studying in Vancouver from
entering his own country, enlisting his frightened parents to help turn him
away at Beijing's Capital Airport.
The activist, Mao Jiye, 28, had planned to seek permission to attend the
trials of the Tiananmen Square dissidents. But at least a dozen police
and security agents, as well as his parents, were waiting for him in the
airport's restricted zone when he arrived at noon on Saturday.
"The first person I say was my father. Then I saw my mother. That really
surprised me," Mr. Mao said yesterday in a telephone interview from Osaka,
Japan, where he was awaiting a flight back to Vancouver.
Mr. Mao, who is secretary-general of the Federation of Chinese Students
and Scholars in Canada, said he had informed both the Chinese embassy in
Ottawa and the Chinese consulate in Vancouver of his trip. But he said
he hadn't told his family to avoid involving them.
Three uniformed police led him into a small room near the passport control
area. "One of them said, `The purpose of your trip is anti-government
activity. You must leave immediately,' " Mr. Mao recalled. The policeman
then walked out, leaving the other two behind to guard him.
"I couldn't even argue with him." Mr. Mao said.
His parents entered next, escorted by a Communist Party official from their
workplace. Authorities apparently had notified them the night before of
their son's mission.
"My parents were really scared. My father couldn't sleep all night. He
almost lost his voice," Mr. Mao said. His parents, who hadn't seen him
in three years, were never left alone with him during the brief meeting.
"They told me, `You were misled. You don't know reality. Nobody died in
Tiananmen Square,' " he said.
Mr. Mao, a Ph.D student in commerce at the University of British Columbia,
has been in Canada since 1987. At the time of the 1989 massacre, he was
earning an MBA at McGill University in Montreal.
"My parents said, `You've done something terribly wrong,' " Mr. Mao recalled.
He said they tried to smile throughout the ordeal and even praised their
company for sending a car to take them to the airport.
Mr. Mao's father, Mao Huanzhang, is an engineer. His mother, Yu Naiwen,
is a librarian. Both are in their mid-50s and work at the Nuclear Industry
General Company in Beijing.
The Communist Party official had the last word, "He told me, `You must
think about your parents,' " said Mr. Mao, who was then escorted onto
the waiting Japan Airlines flight by two policemen.
"Before I left I was prepared for everything, even going to jail," he said.
But he said he didn't expect authorities to use his parents.
Using family members to control unruly citizens is an ancient Chinese
tradition that the modern Communists have perfected. In imperial China,
authorities traditionally punished dissidents by holding their families
responsible.
Mr. Mao was in the Beijing airport just an hour. He said he had hoped
to stay a bit longer, perhaps to have a meal with his parents. But
authorities insisted that he return on the same plane.
So far, the trials of the Tiananmen dissidents have been conducted in
virtual secrecy. Only Chinese specially invited by authorities may
attend.
Mr. Mao, whose trip was financed by the Federation of Chinese Students
and Scholars, was scheduled to arrive back in Vancouver last night.
He said he isn't sure when he will try to return to his homeland.
"I always wanted to go back to China to serve the country. But the people
who really care about China are not welcome. The government is sending
the message that if you don't agree with us, don't come back. We won't
hurt you, but we don't want you. I think it's very sad."
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