2 Chinese dissidents denied visa due to irregularity in documents
MEA defended its decision to cancel his visa, saying Isa had suppressed fact that he would attend conference while seeking tourist visa.
New Delhi: After cancelling Chinese dissident and Uyghur activist Dolkun Isa’s visa, India has now denied visas to Chinese dissidents Lu Jinghua from New York and Ray Wong from Hong Kong, who were to attend a conference in Dharamsala on China and democracy, in what is seen as a clear signal that it does not want to annoy Beijing.
Government sources, however, said the visas were denied due to “inconsistencies” in the documentation of the two dissidents, Lu Jinghua and Ray Wong.
Also, anxious to dispel the notion that India bowed to Chinese pressure on Dolkun Isa, New Delhi on Thursday defended its decision to cancel his visa, saying Isa had “suppressed” the fact that he would attend a conference while seeking a tourist visa, but admitted China had made its clear to New Delhi that it should honour the Interpol “red corner” notice against him.
India is also keen not to annoy China at this juncture, with a visit by President Pranab Mukherjee to China likely in the near future. “As far as Lu Jinghua is concerned, her documents were illegible and there was inconsistency with the purpose of her visit.
As far as Ray Wong is concerned, there was data inconsistency in his documents. As such visas were not issued to both these individuals, so the question of revocation doesn’t arise,” sources said.
Lu is a well-known Tiananmen activist, while Ray is a prominent Hong Kong dissident. Some media reports said Lu had apparently claimed she was told that her visa was cancelled and she was stopped from boarding an Air India flight from New York.
Earlier this week, the visa to Dolkun Isa, a leader of the World Uyghur Congress, who lives in Germany and had been invited to the conference this week organised by the US-based “Initiatives for China”, was cancelled.
“Isa applied for a tourist visa under the electronic travel system. He was accordingly granted the visa. After obtaining the visa, Isa said publicly he was coming to attend a conference. A fact which was suppressed in the visa form and something that a tourist visa does not permit,” MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup said.