The United States on Wednesday called on Hong Kong to maintain political freedom after a top Taiwanese member of the Falun Gong sect was denied entry to the Chinese territory.
Theresa Chu, a lawyer, arrived in the territory on Sunday evening to protest in the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the former British territory Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule but was refused entry and repatriated the next day.
Her visit was "not conducive to public good," she was told by an immigration officer, said the Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa, part of Falun Gong, which has been outlawed in China as a dangerous sect.
"We believe all individuals, regardless of their beliefs or affiliation, enjoy the right to legitimate travel and peaceful assembly," the US State Department said.
"We expect that Hong Kong would continue to uphold its high standards of personal and political freedom," it said.
Kan Hung-cheung, a spokesman at Falun Dafa, had claimed that more than 100 Taiwanese members of Falun Gong have also been denied entry in Hong Kong for a series of protests planned in the run-up to the July 1 anniversary of the handover.
Falun Gong combines meditation with Buddhist-inspired teachings, but was declared an "evil cult" in mid-1999 by Beijing and practitioners have subsequently faced often brutal repression.
