GoFundMe Freezes Over $27,000 in Funds Raised for Solomon Islands’ Prominent China Critic

The donated funds for former Malaita premier, Daniel Suidani, were subsequently released hours before the China Commission hearing.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (R) and then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) inspect honor guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

The GoFundMe website allegedly withheld over $27,800 in funds for the legal defense of Daniel Suidani, a former provincial premier of the Solomon Islands and vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The Youtube channel China Uncensored launched the crowdfunding campaign on April 16 to raise funds for Suidani’s trip to the United States and his legal battle relating to his removal from office.

Suidani was ousted as the premier of the most populous Malaita province in a no-confidence motion in February, an outcome he is currently challenging.

According to the campaign website, Suidani requires an estimated $7,500 down payment to the legal team handling his three lawsuits against the Solomon Islands government and CCP-backed media.

He was traveling to the United States to participate in a United Nations conference focusing on indigenous environmental guardianship and raising awareness “about how the CCP is taking over the Solomon Islands.”

The campaign raised $27,853 from 784 donors within 24 hours. However, China Uncensored claimed that GoFundMe refused to release the funds and placed them under review without providing any reasons.

“GoFundMe is, at best, stalling. In the meantime, Suidani has arrived in [Washington D.C.] and is running out of time to file his legal case back home to challenge his disqualification,” it stated on April 23.

“GoFundMe has not accused China Uncensored of violating its terms of service,  because no terms have been violated. China Uncensored has been open and transparent with them and donors about how the funds will be used,” it added.

China Uncensored posted an update on Tuesday stating that GoFundMe had agreed to release the funds for Suidani, which came just hours before the hearing of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

China Democracy Fund also launched a campaign using its own secure payment system for the same objective. It stated that an anonymous donor agreed to backstop the efforts with a $5,000 pledge to ensure that Suidani’s lawyers can defend him at an upcoming hearing to overturn the baseless motion that removed him from power.

Suidani’s First Visa Application Denied

Suidani reportedly obtained a visa on April 4 to travel to the United States after bipartisan congressional support poured in for his cause.

Daniel Suidani, the former premier of the Malaita province in the Solomon Islands. Picture courtesy Celsus Talifilu

The U.S. State Department denied his first visa application. The second attempt was supported by Congress members from both parties, including, Reps. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa).

Pacific Island Caucus co-chairs Radewagen, and Case sent a letter (pdf) to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 31 expressing their support for a short-term U.S. visa for Suidani.

They said Suidani was invited to join the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York on April 8–23.

“Having had his application turned down once, we strongly encourage the timely issuance of the visa. Please provide your full and fair consideration of this request consistent with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” they stated.

Suidani was the only leader from the Solomon Islands’ nine provinces who stood up against the agenda of the CCP.

When the Solomon Islands changed its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China in 2019, Suidani continued to support Taiwan and created “the Auki Communique,” banning CCP-backed investment in the province.

His successor, Martin Fini, said on Feb. 17 that he considered removing the Auki Communique as it “serves no useful purpose except to lock up Malaita and its resources from beneficial economic development.”

Since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare came to power in 2019, he has undone the country’s bilateral relations with Taiwan, signed a controversial security deal with Beijing in April last year, and secured a $66 million loan from China three months later. The move allowed Chinese telecom giant Huawei to build 161 mobile communication towers nationwide.

Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.