Slovak Activists and Pro-Communist Chinese Clash During Visit of Chinese Leader

By Peter Sedik
Epoch Times Staff Jun 18, 2009

Falun Gong practitioner Mrs. Xu who suffered bleeding injuries after the Chinese leader supporters threw her to the ground for holding a banner reading 'Falun Dafa is Good'. (Kamil Rakyta/The Epoch Times)

BRATISLAVA—In the first day of Chinese top leader Hu Jintao’s visit in Slovakia, police arrested nine people for violating public order on Thursday, June 18.

About one hour before Hu’s arrival, human rights activists started to gather on the square in front of the Slovak presidential palace, already filled with hundreds of Chinese supporters waiting for the arrival of Hu Jintao.

When the activists tried to unfold their banners, Hu’s supporters started to verbally and physically assault them. The most active ones tried to take the banners out of their hands. When successful, they tore them to pieces or ran away with the catch. As a consequence, one Chinese man was arrested for attempted theft when he tried to steal an activist’s banner.

Chinese flag used as a weapon against the human rights banner. (Kamil Rakyta/The Epoch Times)

Mrs. Xu, who held the banner promoting Falun Gong, the spiritual discipline banned in China, had to be treated by the emergency ambulance service. “The Chinese President supporters attacked me and threw me to the ground. I got injured and my forehead was bleeding. I also feel pain in my neck and wrist,” Mrs. Su told the Epoch Times reporter.

Slovak media and the participants of the protests criticized the passivity of the police, who didn’t protect Slovak citizens against the attacks of the Chinese “Welcoming committee” members.

Slovakia is the only EU country the Chinese leader visited on his European trip, taking the Chinese minister of foreign affairs and Chinese businessmen with him. Both Hu and the president of Slovakia praised the mutual relations between the countries, while Hu did not forget to mention “non-meddling in the other country’s internal affairs” as the basis of the good cooperation.

Human rights activist Peter Weisenbacher (in the middle) from Amnesty International holds the banner against the Tiananmen masacre. The Chinese activists tore several of his banners during his short protest. (Peter Sedik/The Epoch Times)