DPA

SYDNEY TEN Chinese nationals who said they hope to claim asylum in New Zealand have been detained in northern Australia, news reports said on Monday. The asylum seekers said they were Falun Gong members who left China for fear of persecution.

They sailed from Malaysia last month but stopped in the Australian city of Darwin on Thursday after running out of food, the national broadcaster ABC reported.

They said they had been recognised as refugees by the United Nations and intended to claim asylum in New Zealand.

“We met in Malaysia at the UN and left Malaysia together by boat to go to New Zealand as refugees,” one of their number told ABC through an interpreter.

They said they were being prevented from continuing their voyage to New Zealand by Australian authorities.

“They’re just thinking about our safety at sea,” the man was quoted as saying.

Falun Gong is a spiritual movement banned in China, where followers face imprisonment and other forms of repression.

Last month, the Falun Gong Association said some Chinese were posing as Falun Gong followers to further their asylum claims in Australia.

Association spokesman John Deller said bogus Falun Gong members arriving by air on tourist visas were making it harder for legitimate members to prove their claims and support their asylum applications.