Open letter in which Galschiot requests
the European
Parliament for support
Jens Galschiot,
Sculptor, Banevaenget 22, DK-5270
Tel. (+45) 6618
4058, private (+45) 6614 4038, Fax (+45) 6618 4158
E-mail:
Dear MP,
I'm a Danish
sculptor who has just been denied entry to
It was a surprise
to all of us, also to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish
consul general in
It is remarkable
that Xiong Yan, one of the most persecuted and
renowned dissidents and one of the prime movers of the Tiananmen protests, was
allowed entry just after my refusal. So it seems unlikely that my personal
activities against the Chinese regime and in
So it seems highly
plausible that that the expulsion is a consequence of the Danish reception of
the Dalai Lama and is to seen as an act of revenge against
I request the MP's
to take political action launching a protest against
The ongoing
campaign ahead of the EU elections could be a convenient opportunity for
showing the European peoples the merits of the EU and make clear that a
supranational authority is needed in Europe, to present substantial claims to
powerful countries such as
I hope the
European political parties will take joint action in this case. I have the impression
that virtually all fractions of the EUP agree that the EU must insist on every
government's right to receive persons at their discretion without risking that
EU citizens are subjected to revenge actions from
For sure, I'll
file my own complaint about the expulsion. Also Albert Ho, a lawyer and MP in
I hope for your
support in this issue.
Yours sincerely,
Jens Galschiot
*All documents on
the issue and photos are available on the Internet: www.aidoh.dk/4June09
**************************
Galschiot expelled as revenge for Dalai Lama visit?
As Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot landed
in Hongkong on Saturday 30 May he was expelled
after 5 hours of interrogation and sent back with the first plane.
The
Danish sculptor had come to Hong Kong with his two sons and a documentary filmmaker to participate in the 20th
anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on 4th June. Danish consul
Tomas Andersen had come to the gate to meet the artist. Numerous reporters had
booked a return ticket to catch the opportunity for an interview before
Galschiot’s passing the pass control.
At
the pass control Jens Galschiot was sorted out for interrogation. The other three members of the Danish group entered
smoothly. The interrogation started immediately, although Galschiot requested
the assistance of the Danish consul and Albert Ho, MP and of the most respected
lawyers of
”I
was escorted by 15 airport officials and a guy filmed the scene. It
must have been a peculiar view. They were all circulating around me and
conducted me in and out of lifts and through various backdoors. Finally a short
bus trip brought me to the waiting plane which I boarded by a special staircase
outside the boarding area. Presumably they were keen to avoid photo
documentation of the expulsion. Maybe the authorities felt shameful of the
perspective of having photos of the expulsion published in the media. Anyway, I
was constantly filmed as long as was in charge of the immigration authorities.
I don’t know for what purpose” – Jens Galschiot explains on his arrival in
the
Astonishment at the expulsion. So was the reaction of the
artist, the Danish consul and the lawyer Albert Ho. For months there had been a
vivid correspondence and a debate about Jens Galschiot’s claim to receive an advance
admission to
“On this positive background I decided to book the tickets”, Jens Galschiot says and continues: “Albert asked
me if there had been some event during the last couple days ahead of my trip to
Hong Kong that might have changed the authorities’ apparently positive response
about my allowance to entry.
I
could not instantly find any explanation, until I read the speculations in the
Even if the Hongkongers
were promised the principle of ‘One country – Two systems” when they were reunited
with
This expulsion makes me really angry! With the support from many of the parliament members of Hong Kong and
from almost all parties of the Danish parliament and the Danish Consulate in
Hong Kong, I have tried for months to get a clarification about whether I am
unwanted in Hong Kong, because I would prevent this to happen. Dozens of
letters in this case have been exchanged and kilometres of articles in the
press have been written. Nothing has been hidden. All documents are published
on my website and the
director of Hong Kong’s migration authorities has personally told
me that like all other EU citizens I have free entrance to
I have to travel
Maybe
I expect the Danish government to take action, to make clear how the rules should be in the future,
and to protest against the expulsion of a peaceful Danish citizen, who
cooperates with a lawful Chinese democratic movement. Especially because the
expulsion is probably a direct consequence of the fact that the Danish prime
minister has chosen to meet the Dalai Lama. A decision that I
fully support.
Galschiot’s
two sons are still in
Contact
addresses and further information and background:
All
documents and plenty of photos are available on the web: www.aidoh.dk/4June09
The
Danish group in
Lasse Galschiot Markus, mobile +852 5174 6301
Kasper Galschiot Markus (photos),
mobile +852 5174 6300
Niller Madsen (documentary footage
and video), mobile: +45 40 215 415
Contact
to the Hong Kong
Secretary Ocean Fung, +852
2782 6111
E-mail: contact@alliance.org.hk, Internet www.alliance.org.hk
Contact
to Jens Galschiot in
Workshop in
Private +45 6614 4038
E-mail:
Contact to the Consulate General of
Consul General Jørgen Møllegaard
Vice-consul Tomas Andersen
(assisted Jens Galschiot in the HK airport)
Tel. +852 2827 8101, hkggkl@um.dk
Internet: www.gkhongkong.um.dk/da
Immigration
Department in
The Government of the
Tel. +852 2182 1483, E-mail:
enquiry@immd.gov.hk
Contact to the President of
The President of the LegCo, Hon Jasper Tsang Yok-sing
Room 109,
E-mail: plc@legco.gov.hk