Tang v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

[2000] FCA 1746

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Tang v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1746

XIAO JING TANG  v  MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

N 929 of 2000

RYAN, SUNDBERG and STONE JJ
SYDNEY
1 DECEMBER 2000

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALESDISTRICT REGISTRY	N 929 of 2000

ON APPEAL FROM A JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN:	XIAO JING TANG Appellant
AND:	MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS Respondent
JUDGES:	RYAN, SUNDBERG and STONE JJ
DATE OF ORDER:	1 DECEMBER 2000
WHERE MADE:	SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.        The appeal be dismissed.

2.The appellant pay the respondent’s costs of the appeal, to be taxed in default of agreement.

Note:    Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALESDISTRICT REGISTRY	N 929 of 2000

ON APPEAL FROM A JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN:	XIAO JING TANG Appellant
AND:	MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS Respondent

JUDGES:	RYAN, SUNDBERG and STONE JJ
DATE:	1 DECEMBER 2000
PLACE:	SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

THE COURT

1. This is an appeal from a judgment of a single Judge of the Court affirming a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) which, in turn, affirmed a decision of the respondent Minister not to grant the appellant a protection visa.  The appellant is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).  She claimed, according to the Tribunal, to have “participated in underground activities in the Roman Catholic Church.”  On the basis of “country information”, the distinction between officially recognised religions and “underground” or unregistered religious activity was acknowledged by the Tribunal in the following passage from its reasons:

   “Each of the five religions officially recognised by the Chinese government, being Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Daoism and Islam must register with and is monitored by its respective “patriotic organisation” which in turn reports to the Government Religious Affairs Bureau.  Unregistered religious activity is illegal and is a punishable offence.

   .....

   It is clear from the evidence before the Tribunal that since the reforms began in 1979 in China that the Government does not harass or prevent believers from any of the authorised churches including the Catholic church from privately worshipping or attending an official designated place of worship.”

2. In respect of the appellant’s religious activity from 1992 until she left the PRC in 1997 and the circumstances in which she left, the Tribunal made these findings:

   “I accept that the applicant was asked in 1992 by her priest to organise activities for the young people who attended the underground gatherings.  According to her evidence she acted as a liaison between the priest and the young people and organised activities once every week and according to her evidence this continued uneventfully for a period of two years.

   I accept that the applicant resigned from her work voluntarily to attend a ten day course in Fujian organised by the Singapore Catholic…