Victim:

1.      Mr. Kuang Jiyun, residing in Kansas City, Kansas, USA.

2.      Ms. Wang Dongmei, residing in Kansas City, Kansas, USA.

Location:

Chinese Consulate, Chicago, USA

Description:

Mr. Kuang Jiyun and his wife Ms. Wang Dongmei are both Chinese citizens, who have been living in the USA for over 10 years.

On January 5, 2004, in order to renew their passports, Mr. Kuang followed the guidelines on the website of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. He filled out the application forms and sent them to the consulate along with the passports. After two weeks, they had still not received their passports. Rather, someone from the consulate called him at his office. The person did not explain why the consulate had not sent back their passports, but instead asked Mr. Kuang if he was still practicing Falun Gong. When Mr. Kuang replied in the affirmative, the person asked him to think twice about it and hung up.

At the beginning of February, consulate personnel again called and asked Mr. Kuang if  he still continued practicing Falun Gong. He confirmed that he was still practicing, and the personnel still did not mention the reason for holding the passports.

On February 10, 2004, Ms. Wang called the consulate to ask about their passports. One officer answered that he could not make decisions on passport issues and needed to ask his superiors. He asked her to keep waiting.

At the end of February 2004, when the visa department of the Chicago Chinese Consulate came to Kansas City to help local Chinese with their passport extensions, Ms. Wang went to inquire about hers too. The answer she received was, "If you stop practicing Falun Gong, I will extend your passport right away." This clearly demonstrated that the sole reason that the Chinese Consulate did not extend their passports was because they practice Falun Gong.

On March 28, 2004, US lawyer Eric Ziegenhorn wrote to the Chinese Consul to express Mr. Kuang and Ms. Wang’s concerns. He also requested that the consulate return their passports. He indicated that failure to do so could result in the filing of a legal action.

On April 2, 2004, State Senator Stephen R. Morris wrote to Xu Jinzhong, the Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago, to request the immediate return of the passports of the couple, but got no response.

On April 14, 2004, Ms. Wang called the Chinese Consulate to ask about the passports, and the officials indicated that the consulate was waiting for instructions from China. On June 24, 2004, the couple received their old passports in the mail, but the extensions had not been made.