Some 100 members of the Korean Chinese Church in Seoul led by Reverend Seo Kyong-seok, went on an unlimited hunger strike in the church¡¯s Memorial Hall Monday, the 100th anniversary of the advent of Christianity in Korea, to protest against the government's crackdown on and deportation of illegal Korean Chinese residents.
They issued a statement prior to going on strike in which they argued that the government was not considering the historical background of why 2.2 million Korean Chinese were settled in China and why they wish to come to Korea, adding it only looked at the legal grounds for handling the issue. In addition, they demanded the government guarantee free movement of Korean Chinese to Korea, eradicate corruption in remittances, and open society to them.
Currently the Rev. Seo has been fasting for 19 days protesting the governments drive to recklessly send illegal Korean Chinese residents back to China. He said he will continue his strike, until the government revises the current Overseas Korean Law which treats illegal Korean Chinese as foreign workers.
(Bang Sung-hun, sungbang@chosun.com)
