ARCTIC HOST, ICY VISIT
China and Falun Gong Face Off in Iceland
A Report on the 2002 Events
(2010)
In July 1999, when the Chinese government began to crackdown on a spiritual movement called Falun Gong, few expected a showdown to take place in one of the world’s most remote countries.
But when President Jiang Zemin paid an official visit to Iceland in June 2002, the struggle between these two antagonists moved to the Arctic. In contrast to the anti-Falun Gong campaign in China, most observers expected democratic Iceland to allow peaceful protests.
But the Icelandic government was in no mood to tolerate dissent. It banned practitioners from the country; used a secret blacklist to identify those already in Iceland; ordered the national airline Icelandair to deny them passage; and arrested those who managed to slip through the net.
Originally a report commissioned by the Icelandic Human Rights Center, Arctic Host, Icy Visit reviews these little-known events and situates them in the context of global politics and international human rights law. It also facilitated the Icelandic Parliament’s own investigation into the incident.
Although the events of 2002 were unprecedented for Iceland, they were hardy new for China. They are especially relevant from an international relations standpoint, given the arguable decline of US influence over global norms and the parallel rise of China on the global stage, including in Africa, South-East Asia, the United Nations, and beyond.
A summary and a visual synopsis of ‘Arctic Host, Icy Visit‘ can be watched here (opens a new window).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- What is Falun Gong?
- Events Before the Arrival of the Chinese President
- Events After the Arrival of the Chinese President
- Legal Challenges and Assessment
- Are the Icelandic Events Isolated
- Conclusion
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