From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: CND-EP, Friday, September 11, 1992
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: 11 Sep 92 06:48:09 GMT

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===================  Europe / Pacific Section (CND-EP)  ===================
                           September 11, 1992

---------------------------- Table of Contents ----------------------------
No. Subject                                                      # of Lines

1. Australia: Chinese Students Special Status in Doubt ................. 56

2. Appeal for Chinese Dissidents in Risk of Deportation in HK .......... 54

3. Australia: Boat People Not Allowed to Leave Aboard Junk ............. 54

4. Triads Abroad - Former Chinese Soldiers Involved ................... 127
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1. Australia - Chinese Students Special Status in Doubt ................ 56
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From: Gao Jie
Source: The Age, 9/9/92
By: Margaret Easterbrook

Canberra -- A parliamentary committee is expected to urge the Federal
Government to drop its favored treatment of Chinese students and others
granted temporary entry permits after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

The majority report of the migration regulations joint standing committee,
due to be tabled next week, is expected to call on the Government not to
grant automatic resident status to the students when their visas expire in
June 1994.

But, in a dissenting report, the committee's chairman, Dr Andrew
Theophanous, is believed to recommend the creation of a new migration
category to enable the Chinese to stay.

The adoption of a tougher line would conflict with a promise made by the
former Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, and reaffirmed by his successor, Mr
Keating, that none of the 17,000 holding temporary entry permits or the
8,000 spouses and dependents who have since joined them would be forced to
return.

It would, however, also answer fears prompted by the admission by the
Immigration Minister, Mr Hand, that the granting of temporary residence
could lead to an influx of 300,000 Chinese by the end of the decade.

This could occur if those holding entry permits were granted permanent
residence and brought in relatives, as they are entitled, under the family
reunion program.

A tougher line would also bring Government immigration policy closer to that
of the Opposition, which has repeatedly called for applications for
residency to be considered on merit.

The Opposition acknowledges that some of the Chinese may have a well-founded
fear of persecution if they were to return to China and supports the
granting of refugee protection in these circumstances.

The standing committee's call follows concern about a lack of equity in the
immigration processing system which requires others seeking residency to
join long queues.

Mr Hand, recently cracked down on rorting of the entry-permit system by
people who were using a range of means including sham marriages to enable
them to bring more than one person to Australia.

The long-awaited committee report, the result of a two-year inquiry into
refugees in Australia, is also believed to look at Australia's policy of
detaining applicants for refugee status.

While supporting the detention of illegal arrivals, it is expected to
express concern at the length of time some applicants in the past have been
kept in detention.

[Editor's Note: The National Union of Chinese Students and Scholars in
Australia has set up a mailing list to discuss matters including visa
issues. To join the NUCSSA-FORUM please write to gaojeng@fac.anu.edu.au]

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2. Appeal for Chinese Dissidents in Risk of Deportation in HK .......... 54
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From: Charles P. Mok
Source: soc.rights.human 9/9/1992
By: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>

Case CHI/HKG 070992
At the request of Antenna International, member of our network, we call 
upon you to intervene URGENTLY on behalf of the following situation in Hong 
Kong.

Brief description of the situation:
A Chinese dissident who wrote poems used by students during the 
pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 has been refused 
asylum and risks deportation from Hong Kong back to China. The writer, Ms. 
Liu YIJUNG, aged 29 and a friend Ms. Lin LIN, informed that the police were 
searching for them, hid in Southern China until last December when they were
smuggled to Hong Kong.  The authorities in Hong Kong refused to grant either
woman asylum and held them in Hong Kong's Victoria prison for nine months 
despite the fact that both their stories had been corroborated by a number 
of reliable sources.  On the afternoon of Friday 4 September it was
announced that the women would not be allowed to go to the United Kingdom.  
The timing of the announcement meant that lawyers would not be able to press
for a judicial review of the case until Monday morning at which time the two 
women may already have been deported. 

According to the information received, Asiawatch, a leading human rights 
organisation is reported to have said that the women would be in danger if 
they were deported given that pro-democracy supporters who were forced to 
return to China faced the threat of long prison sentences in harsh 
conditions. At the time of drafting this appeal, it is not known if the two 
women have been deported.

Action requested:
Please write to the Governor of Hong Kong urging that the authorities
ensure the physical and psychological integrity of the two women at all 
times. Demand that a full judicial review of their case be undertaken. In 
the event that the women have already been returned to China, please write
to the Chinese authorities demanding that they ensure their physical and
psychological integrity at all times. Demand that they put an end to human 
rights violations of pro-democracy supporters. Insist that they ensure the 
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country at all 
times in accordance with international standards.

Addresses:

HONG KONG
The Honourable Chris Patten, Governor of Hong Kong, Government House,
Hong Kong.

CHINA
Mr. Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party,
Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Mr. LI Peng Zongli, Prime Minister, Guowoyuan, 9
Xihuangchenggenbeijie, Beijingshi 100032, People's Republic of China
- Tlx: 2100070 FMPRC CN or 24478 MFERT CN - Fax: +86 1 512 5810.
Mr. Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme Feweigyuanzhang, Vice-Chairman, Standing
Committee National People's Congress, Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Changwu
Weiyuanhui, Xijiao, Beijingshi, People's Republic of China.
Mr. Cai Cheng Buzhang, Minister of Justice, Sifabu, Sanlihe,
Beijingshi, People's Republic of China - Tlx : 22478.
Mr. TAO Siju Buzhang, Minister of the Public Security, Gong'anbu, 14
Dongchang'anlu, Beijingshi 100741, People's Republic of China - Fax:
+86 1 512 1365.
7 September 1992
Please inform us of any action undertaken, (kindly mention the code
number of the appeal in any related correspondence).

[Editor's Note: For further info on the court action please see CND-Global
September 11, 1992]

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3. Australia: Boat People Not Allowed to Leave Aboard Junk ............. 54
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From: Gao Jie
Source: The Canberra Times, 9/10/1992

DARWIN -- Ten Chinese boat people facing deportation would not be allowed
to leave Australia aboard the rickety junk in which they arrived, the
Department of Immigration said yesterday.

The group's lawyer, Michael Kennedy, of Australian Lawyers for refugees
Incorporated, said he was investigating whether the people could leave in
their vessel, which is in Darwin, but the Department of Immigration said it
had "no intention" of allowing the people to sail from Australia.

"They will be removed from Australia by air," spokeswoman Jenny Hoskin
said.

The department announced at the weekend that refugee applications by the
seven men, two women and a girl had been rejected.

The group, from the southern Chinese city of Nanning, would be deported
once travel documents and arrangements had been finalised.

Five of the Chinese jumped from the roof of the Port Hedland Detention
Centre in Western Australia's north last month after they heard a rumour
that a decision not to grant them refugee status had been made. A man and a
woman remain in a Perth hospital with spinal injuries.

Mr Kennedy said the decision to refuse refugee status was being examined by
lawyers.

It was possible an application would be made to the Federal Court to have
the decision-making process reviewed.

He was also examining whether the group could seek refuge in a third
country.

"People may, on their own initiative, seek to travel to other countries,
but we cannot remove them from Australia unless they have proper travel
documentation and the authority to enter and remain in a country," Ms
Hoskin said.

"Where a third country is involved, we would need confirmation from the
third country that they would accept the person, knowing that the person
cannot return to Australia."

The wooden junk in which the group came to Australia is in the custody of a
Darwin museum.

a spokesman for the Australian customs Service said the vessel was now the
property of the Crown.

The owner, one of the boat people, had been notified that he had the option
of exporting the vessel or paying the applicable duty within 30 days of the
May arrival.

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4. Triads Abroad - Former Chinese Soldiers Involved ................... 127
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From: A CND Reader
Source: The Associated Press 8/30/92

A gang of former Chinese soldiers that specializes in drugs, smuggling and
credit card fraud is the latest example of a troubling migration of
criminals from Hong Kong and China to North America.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee on Investigations in June,
the loosely knit gang, called the Big Circle Boys, was said to be active in
Canada, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Hong Kong and
communist China.

According to the testimony, the gang imported 800 to 1,200 pounds of heroin
into the United States between 1988 and 1990 for an estimated profit of $72
million. In 1990, the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested several gang
members in New York with $8.6 million in cash.

American law enforcement officials believe the gang is led by a naturalized
American citizen, a woman who was born in Vietnam and was once married to a
retired high-ranking Hong Kong police officer.

The gang traces its roots back to Hong Kong in the mid-1970s when
out-of-work Chinese immigrants veterans of the People's Liberation Army and
the Red Guard, the shock troops of the late Mao Tse-tung's ultraleftist
Cultural Revolution began pulling off violent robberies.

"Many of the Big Circle Boys were wanted men in China, hardened criminals
who had sneaked into Hong Kong as illegal migrants, or ex-Red Guards with a
history of violence and frustration behind them," historian Lynn Pan wrote
in "Sons of the Yellow Emperor: The Story of the Overseas Chinese." "Some of
them had even had military training in China, and are adept at handling
firearms and at hand-to-hand combat."

In Hong Kong, law enforcement officials blame the gang for a string of
jewelry shop robberies in which they used grenades issued by China's
People's Liberation Army. The gang has recently begun muscling in on the
movie industry, the traditional bailiwick of the Sun Yee On, a triad, or
Hong Kong-based criminal organization with roots in the 19th-century
movement to overthrow China's Qing dynasty.

In this century, however, the triads have degenerated into criminal
organizations.

In China, the gang has formed alliances with the 14K triad to operate
prostitution rings and karaoke bars in the southern provincial capital of
Canton. "Big Circle" is Chinese slang for Canton.

Canadian police say the Big Circle Boys were responsible for a large
proportion of the $50 million in credit card fraud in that country last
year. Bogus credit cards, courtesy of the gang, have also surfaced in New
York City, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

"A great many of them are, in my opinion, criminally brilliant, especially
when one considers they are currently progressing through their criminal
infancy in North America," said Detective Kenneth Yates, head of the
Strategic Intelligence Section of Canada's Asian Investigative Unit.

In 1990, Canadian police broke up an alien smuggling ring led by the Big
Circle Boys. The ring, which brought 1,200 illegal Chinese aliens into
Canada and the United States over a two-year period at a cost of about
$20,000 a head was linked to the Fuk Ching, or Fukienese Youth gang, one of
the most violent street gangs in New York City.

Asian-Americans were the fastest-growing group in the United States between
1980 and 1990, increasing from 1.5 percent to 2.9 percent of the population,
or 7.3 million people. In Canada, Hong Kong is the No. 1 source of
immigrants.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 30,000
illegal aliens from mainland China have been smuggled into the United States
since the mid-1980s. Many of them end up as indentured servants for gangs
such as the Fukienese Youth. If they can't pay off the smuggling cost they
are often kidnapped and sometimes killed.

"As time goes by, the kidnappings aspect has doubled and tripled," said Lt.
Joseph Pollini, who heads the newly created Asian Crime Investigation Unit
of New York's police department. "The only difference is now the violence
seems to be a little bit more intense. In the last two cases they've killed
the victims in both kidnappings."

The traditional view holds that the Big Circle Boys, along with other Hong
Kong-based criminal organizations, are fleeing this British colony in the
run-up to communist China's takeover in 1997.

But actually, law enforcement officials say, the criminals are only
diversifying their operations. Taking a cue from the territory's big
business, the gangs are keeping their interests in Hong Kong while they
expand to China and overseas.

Unlike the Mafia, Asian criminal organizations are generally decentralized,
operating in small cells of 10 to 20 men. That facilitates diversification
abroad.

Neither the United States nor Canada has enacted tough legislation against
alien smuggling, a specialty of the Asian gangs. In September 1990, for
example, the Immigration and Naturalization Service sold two leading Hong
Kong alien smugglers 10 bogus "green" cards, which give an immigrant the
right to reside permanently in the United States.

The men were convicted of fraudulent use of immigration documents and were
sentenced to 60 days and fined $60,000 each. They are now back in Hong Kong
and back in business, American law enforcement agents said. To add insult to
injury, the men sold the bogus cards for a net profit of $680,000.

Deportation of foreign criminals a common way to fight crime is apparently
not an option with criminals from mainland China. Neither Canada nor the
United States has ever deported anyone to China, because of the political
ramifications of sending someone back to a communist country. INS sources
say several Chinese-born triad members in the United States have turned in
their British-Hong Kong passports for Chinese passports to avoid potential
deportation.

Hong Kong generally is the meeting place for North American-based branches
of Asian gangs and their Asian counterparts. Peter Chong, alleged head of
the San Francisco branch of the Wo Hop To triad, for example, arrived in
Hong Kong in June. Hong Kong police records show that Chong has received
hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past few years from Chan Tinghung,
identified by the Senate investigation as the head of the Wo Hop To in Hong
Kong.

Communist China's reputation for law and order is exaggerated, the law
enforcement agents say. Corruption and crime have skyrocketed there since
1979 when China launched economic reforms that opened the communist country
to Western investment and influences. Many believe Hong Kong will become
more, not less, freewheeling after 1997.

"A lot of people are under the impression that as China moves into Hong
Kong, these guys are scurrying to other places," said one American law
enforcement official in Hong Kong. "But China is probably more corrupt and
freewheeling than anywhere else in Asia."

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