'Harassed' activist willing to return to mainland
A US-based human rights activist interrogated by state security police in Beijing last month says she is prepared to return to China provided it made her feel safe and welcome.
Sharon Hom, speaking from New York, said the June 21 incident in which at least eight state security police put her through a five-hour ordeal when she returned to her Beijing hotel was regretful.
'It's up to the Chinese government to make guests, including NGOs, feel welcome and safe. If they issue an invitation, we're happy to go,' Ms Hom said.
Ms Hom, the executive director of Human Rights in China, attended the European Union-China Human Rights seminar in Beijing on June 20-21.
She said her experience would send a 'chilling message' to NGOs at home and abroad. 'We don't think we did anything wrong. How could one part of the government invite a guest and the other part of the government harass the guest?' she asked.
The only ethnic Chinese attendee at the seminar besides mainland participants, Ms Hom - a US national - did not want to speculate on the reasons for her interrogation, but said she obtained her visa through proper channels.
The Foreign Ministry said Ms Hom 'hid her identity' and obtained the visa through deceit.
'To ensure the safety of the seminar, the related department legally sought to understand the situation from Ms Hom', it said.
It said she 'had confessed it was wrong to hide her identity and had apologised to the organiser'.
Ms Hom said both her Chinese and English signatures appeared in her passport. 'It would be bizarre to say I concealed my true identity,' she said.
A senior official in the EU, a main organiser of the event, expressed regret over the incident and said it would be a serious matter if guests were harassed at a seminar.
He said Chinese authorities must have known Ms Hom's identity because she was on a list of official participants sent to Beijing. 'There was no secret about who she is. Would she have received a visa if they didn't know who she is?' he asked.
David Sedney, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Beijing, and the EU registered a protest with the Chinese Foreign Ministry after the incident.
