Former Head of China’s Religious Affairs Barred From Taiwan for Renowned Monk’s Funeral

Ye oversaw crackdowns on groups including Falun Gong

A China Airlines passenger jet at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 8, 2020. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

World-renowned Taiwanese monk Hsing Yun passed away at age 95 on Feb. 5.  Thousands of people attended his funeral on Feb. 13. However, the former head of the Chinese communist regime’s religious affairs bureau was denied entry to Taiwan for the ceremony due to his record of human rights abuses.

Revered by Buddhists worldwide, Hsing Yun was born in China but fled to Taiwan in 1949. He established Taiwan’s Fo Guang Shan monastery in 1967. The religious community went on to found hundreds of temples, seminaries, and universities around the world.

Police in Taiwan anticipated a crowd of 30,000 would attend Hsing Yun’s funeral, at which Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen presented him with a posthumous citation in recognition of his “far-reaching impact and contributions to the state, society, and religious life” of Taiwan.

A delegation from China was scheduled to attend the funeral. However, Ye Xiaowen, former director of China’s state administration for religious affairs, was denied entry to Taiwan for the ceremony.  As head of religious affairs from 1995 to 2009, Ye oversaw the persecution of religious groups including Falun Gong. He was slated to head the Chinese delegation.

‘All or Nothing’ for Chinese Delegation

The Taiwan Falun Gong Human Rights Lawyers Group issued a statement saying that Ye should first apologize to the victims of the religious persecution in mainland China and offer condolences to them.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) stated on Feb. 10 that it had issued entry and exit permits to a total of 120 people from mainland China and Hong Kong to attend the ceremony. That total included relatives and friends of the deceased abbot and people from religious circles.

However, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, claimed on Feb. 11 that Taiwan had refused to allow the Chinese delegation to attend.

Regarding the claim, Taiwan’s vice premier, Cheng Wen-tsan, said that among the 38 people in the Chinese delegation, 26 people were approved. The rest are current officials of the Taiwan Affairs Office and the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including Ye Xiaowen.

MAC deputy minister Chiu Chui-cheng confirmed that Ye Xiaowen was denied entry because he was marked by Taiwan’s Immigration Bureau as having “persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in the past.”

Taiwanese legislator Chou Yung-hong told The Epoch Times on Feb. 12 that the Taiwanese government did not reject everyone in the Chinese group. However, it was “all or nothing” for the Chinese, so the entire delegation missed the funeral.

Implemented Campaign of Extermination

The Falun Gong Human Rights Lawyers Group issued a statement on Feb. 11, supporting the Taiwanese government’s decision and addressing Ye’s active involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong is a traditional spiritual practice based on the principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance. Its adherents in China have been brutally persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since former CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched a campaign to exterminate the movement in 1999.

Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan hold a rally and parade in Taipei to show support for the more 200,000 people who have filed criminal complaints against former Party leader Jiang Zemin, on July 17, 2016. (Chen Po-chou/The Epoch Times)

The group’s spokesperson, lawyer Zhu Wan-qi, stated Ye Xiaowen actively implemented Jiang’s policy to “defame Falun Gong’s reputation, destroy the practitioners financially, and destroy them physically.” Zhu said that before attending the funeral, Ye should first offer condolences to the tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, their families, and members of other faith groups who were persecuted by him.

Zhu emphasized that Taiwan’s decision to deny Ye entry, as someone who has committed crimes against humanity, is completely legal and reasonable. It is in line with Taiwan’s national identity as a country established “on the foundation of human rights.”

In accord with that identity, she noted, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a bill in December of 2010 that declared that Taiwan would not “invite, welcome, or receive human rights violators.”

Wu Minzhou and Huang Yuyan contributed to this report.