Chinese activist who camped in protest at Tokyo’s airport heads home, hoping to be let in

Chinese who camped in Tokyo’s airport to head home

SHANGHAI — A Chinese activist who spent more than three months camped inside Tokyo’s international airport as part of a protest plans to return home to China on Friday, assuming authorities will let him in.

Feng Zhenghu was planning on an early flight out of Narita International Airport, where he camped from early November until last week to protest China’s refusal to let him enter the country.

Eight times since June, Chinese authorities refused entry to Feng, who has angered the local government by supporting student protests and accusing local authorities of wrongdoing. This time, he said, he feels confident he will be allowed in.

“If I am refused again, I will return to Japan and continue to appeal for my right to go home,” Feng said in a phone interview from Tokyo, speaking eagerly of his desire to spend the Lunar New Year, China’s biggest holiday, with his family.

“I think this request is humble and reasonable. They should not be so nasty as to keep me from going home,” he said.

The predicament of 55-year-old Feng reflects the Chinese government’s rejection of public dissent of any kind. Many activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for nonviolent protests. Scores of others have been forced into exile.

A dissident writer and human rights activist, Feng was jailed from 2000-2003. Detained for several weeks in early 2009, Feng says he has been monitored and harassed by authorities for supporting Shanghai residents seeking redress in property disputes with the local government.

Feng left China in April and began his efforts to return home in June. His last attempt got him as far as Shanghai’s Pudong airport, where Chinese officials forced him to get back on a plane to Tokyo.

Despite holding a valid Chinese passport and a visa to enter Japan, Feng refused to pass immigration control as a protest against China’s government. He used a laptop and mobile phone to talk to supporters and post on blogs and social networking sites such as Twitter.

He survived on food and clothes provided by tourists passing through and used a restroom sink for washing.

Chinese officials met with Feng at Narita airport in late January, and afterward he announced he had permission to go home. He left the airport to spend some time with relatives in Japan, where his son is a university student, before his departure.

Asked about Feng’s case at a recent news conference, Shanghai’s mayor Han Zheng would only say that all those entering the country had to abide by Chinese laws and regulations.

Feng said that given his many false starts, he had not told his wife in Shanghai about his flight out of fear of disappointing her once again.

“The police will probably be waiting for me at the gate, but I’m not too worried about being taken away. I’m no dummy,” Feng said.

“The game between the police and I has lasted a fairly long time, so I think they know what kind of person I am,” he added.