Chen Yonglin, China's consul for political affairs in Sydney who has defected, told a democracy rally at the weekend that the Chinese Government had "kidnapped dissidents here", including the son of a dissident deputy mayor, who Mr Chen said was forced onto a fishing boat and taken to a ship offshore.
About 25 mainly Chinese detainees in Villawood have been held separately from other inmates. According to refugee advocates, the detainees have been refused visitors or phone calls for the past two weeks. A letter from one of the detainees to the NSW Refugee Action Collective said Chinese officials had been given access to detainees to interview them.
The letter's author said he was a Falun Gong asylum seeker and that on May 16 he had been called for an interview with three "Chinese middlemen".
The Refugee Action Collective said the Immigration Department had placed asylum seekers at risk by allowing Chinese Government representatives to obtain information on them.
An Immigration Department spokesperson said the Villawood detainees had been separated while arrangements were made for their deportation and they were now back with the general detention population.
Golding in The Age
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