Independent People? Iceland, Falun Gong and the Visit of the Chinese President in 2002

Abstract

In June 2002, just before the official visit of the Chinese President to Iceland, the Icelandic Government allegedly compiled a blacklist of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, sent it to Iceland’s national airline Icelandair and ordered it to deny passage to them. The series of events that followed – together with the disturbing incidents during the visit – form the object of a substantial, forthcoming Report that this article anticipates. The Icelandic events are not an isolated occurrence but represent one more example – although extraordinarily transparent – of Beijing’s bullying diplomacy on foreign soils. They are also a disturbing illustration of how easy it is, for a democratic state, to succumb to the pressures of an authoritarian regime – particularly when the latter has a population of 1.3 billion and an almighty economic power.