The Hong Kong head of the Falun Gong had deliberately misled the High Court about his knowledge of a supposed ban on members of the movement entering the city during the handover celebrations last year, a judge ruled yesterday.
Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung granted a government application in the Court of First Instance yesterday to cancel a judicial review application by Kan Hung-cheung, the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa.
Mr Kan had been granted leave to apply for judicial review during an urgent hearing on June 30 last year, a Saturday. It was argued that Falun Gong practitioners, in particular those from Taiwan, were being deliberately excluded on the grounds of their beliefs.
A letter from the Immigration Department to China Airlines, stating that Falun Gong passengers would be unwelcome from June 26 to July 1, was produced as evidence, and Mr Kan swore that its contents had become known to him only on June 29.
For that reason, Mr Kan requested that an urgent hearing be held and that the Immigration Department be immediately required to produce evidence to counter his claims.
The government had argued that the copy of the letter attached to Mr Kan's application was stamped June 26 and that there were handwritten notes on it suggesting it had been received that day.
Mr Justice Michael Lunn asked on June 30 exactly when Mr Kan had become aware of the decision to exclude Falun Gong members. Mr Kan's counsel said he was aware of the letter on the 28th, but had not paid any attention to it until the 29th.
