The real Terminal.

I did not watch the Tom Hanks movie in 2004, The Terminal. Where he played Victor Navorski. From eastern Europe, he flies to New York for the first time in his life. However, during the flight, a civil war breaks out, and effectively wipes his nation off the map. Therefore, upon his arrival, he is not allowed into the USA. He then has to set up camp in the arrivals lounge at JFK. The movie follows his struggle to make friends, and eventually get admitted to the USA.

There is an unfolding story in Tokyo that is not too dissimilar. The story is not about a man stuck without a country. This story is of a man stuck at Narita who HAS a country, but it is a country that does not want him!

The gentleman in question is Feng Zhengu.

Feng Zhengu is a Chinese national. In a previous life, he was an economist, and human rights activist. Back in 2000 he was sentenced to 3 years in jail for "illegal business practises." (Nice of China to keep it vague.)

Upon his release, he began to write critical columns of the Chinese government and help those who had suffered wrongs at the hands of the authorities in China. Mostly those who have been wrongfully evicted from their homes.

However, he decided to visit his sister this year, for a vacation. His sister resides in Japan, and so over he came for a month.

Not a peep out of the Chinese government.

However, when he tried to return to Shanghai, he was refused permission to enter into China. Even though he had all the documentation, and his passport, etc. The Chinese authorities stuck him back on the next plane to Tokyo.

He could always re-enter Japan, and go to his sisters home and have a shower and so on whilst all this gets sorted. This did not appeal to him, and his principles. So, he decided to wait near the customs desks, waiting to see if his China will let him back.

Since setting up camp in Narita, he has tried to return to China over 8 times, and either been blocked by the airline upon Chinas insistence, or made it to Shanghai, and has been turned back upon each attempt. The last was last month, when he borded an ANA flight back home. Yet again, the Chinese authorities did not let him in. Again, no reasons why.

He has since then scribbled on a t-shirt a slogan highlighting his plight which he is using to publicise his plight.

This t-shirt has been seen by many of the people who pass through Narita.

The Japanese authorities have been reluctant to help him too much, since this is potentially embarrassing for them as well as potentially damaging for their relationship with a notoriously prickly neighbour.

So, they limited his ability to buy food and drink airside at the airport. Not that there was much in the first place!

However, the public has come to his aid. He regularly tweets, and updates his story on the internet. He has had to formally request people STOP helping as his informal storage space under "his" bench is now so full of food and drink that he has enough to keep going for over a month! Since his story was publicised he has had help from people coming in off flights from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing and the US!

He has vowed to keep up this crusade for as long as it takes to go home.

So, if anyone is heading to Tokyo in under a months time, please, dont bother giving him food. Money, yes. Legal advice maybe helpful, but not food. However, come February, then by all means, take an extra bag of food and donate it!