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Auckland Airport: Gateway Or Gatekeeper?
Auckland Airport: Gateway Or Gatekeeper?
18 July 2002
Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Keith Locke will today hand-deliver a letter to Auckland Airport, protesting their decision to remove an advertisement for the Falun Gong meditation group.
"I have expressed my disappointment at the Auckland Airport Company's weak decision to bow to pressure from the Chinese Government.
"Their excuse was that the airport has a policy of being 'politically neutral'. But the advertisement was not political - it featured a woman meditating and the words 'The world needs truth, compassion and forbearance'," he said.
"Could the Airport management please explain why they have a problem with truth, compassion and forbearance?
"Chinese travellers and immigrants coming to New Zealand will respect our tradition of free speech. Auckland Airport should be acting as a gateway to democracy, not a gate-keeper for the Chinese Government," he said.
Keith has accepted an invitation to speak at a Falun Gong gathering outside the Chinese Consulate General at 588 Great South Road, Greenlane, at 1pm
Keith will deliver the letter to Auckland Airport at 3.30pm today
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