DATE=12/27/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA / FALUN GONG (L)
NUMBER=2-257524
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Security remains tight in Beijing Monday, one
day after a court handed down severe jail sentences to
four members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual
movement. V-O-A's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.
TEXT: Chinese police in heavily guarded Tiananmen
Square questioned visitors and forced several dozen
people into waiting blue and white police vans.
Uniformed and plainclothes agents quickly pounced on
one small group of people who attempted to raise a
banner in protest.
The square has been the site of frequent
demonstrations by Falun Gong members since the Chinese
government banned the group in July.
Heavy security kept protesters away during Sunday's
one-day trial - which was the most significant case
against the group.
State-run media say former Public Security Ministry
Deputy Director Li Chang was sentenced to 18 years in
prison and former railways ministry official Wang
Zhiwen received a 16-year jail sentence.
These are among the harshest sentences given to
political or religious dissenters in China this
decade.
Official reports say the court also handed down a 12-
year prison term to Ji Liewu, a former manager of a
state-owned company. The lone woman in the group, Yao
Jie, used to head the Communist Party committee of a
large real estate company. She was sentenced to seven
years in prison.
Chinese television showed the four defendants looking
calm and displaying little remorse as they listened to
the verdicts. The television reports say they all had
lawyers and family members in attendance at the trial.
Judges ruled that the accused had set up a chain of
command and directed 78 protests, including a sit-in
demonstration in Beijing in April during which more
than 10-thousand followers of Falun Gong participated.
The four were also found guilty of illegally netting
more than 54-million dollars in profits from
proselytizing sessions and sales of Falun Gong
literature.
Falun Gong activists in the United States called
Sunday's proceeding a show trial. They criticized
Beijing, saying China has no rule of law or spiritual
freedom.
Chinese authorities outlawed Falun Gong five months
ago, blaming it for the deaths of 14-hundred members
who died after refusing medical help when ill. Falun
Gong mixes Buddhist and Taoist principles with
meditation and breathing exercises designed to help
adherents harness their inner energy.
International human rights groups say hundreds of
Falun Gong followers have been sent to labor camps --
an administrative punishment that does not require a
court hearing.
Falun Gong claims 100-million members, but the Chinese
government says its membership is closer to two
million. (Signed)
NEB/HO/FC/KL
27-Dec-1999 02:25 AM EDT (27-Dec-1999 0725 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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