DATE=11/4/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-REPORTERS (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255808
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China says a handful of foreign reporters
whose accreditation cards and residence permits were
seized this week violated Chinese laws by attending a
secret news conference given by the banned Falun Gong
movement. VOA correspondent Roger Wilkison reports at
least five reporters had their documents taken away on
Wednesday although three of them have now had them
returned.
TEXT: The correspondents - three Americans, a
Filipino and a Frenchwoman, all of them working for
western news agencies - were interrogated by Chinese
police about a clandestine Falun Gong news conference
they attended last week. Police confiscated their
journalists' cards and residence permits -- documents
reporters need to work in China -- although officers
called the seizure temporary.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue-
speaking through an interpreter (on Thursday) - says
the reporters broke the law by attending an illegal
news conference.
/// INTERPRETER ACTUALITY ///
Recently, some resident foreign correspondents
participated in the so-called press conference
illegally held by some Falun Gong practitioners.
I think that you must be aware that Falun Gong
is a cult organization.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
China banned Falun Gong in July and declared it an
illegal cult last week. On Saturday, China's
legislature approved an anti-cult law that promises
jail terms for Falun Gong leaders.
The five reporters were interrogated separately for
one to two hours. The journalists say the
interrogators sought information about the Falun Gong
members who gave the news conference. At least one
reporter was warned against continuing to have
contacts with supporters of the group.
By Thursday, the three American reporters had their
documents again, following a meeting between the U-S
Charge d'Affaires and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi. But the Filipino and the Frenchwoman are
still without theirs, leaving them in a kind of limbo.
When asked when the two remaining correspondents might
get their documents back, spokeswoman Zhang referred
reporters to the Public Security Bureau. An official
there would not comment on the case except to say
that reporters are not allowed to interview members
of illegal organizations.
Last year, a German correspondent and a Japanese
reporter were expelled from China after police accused
them of possessing state secrets. Beijing authorities
characterize anything that is not published or
broadcast by official media as a state secret.
(Signed)
NEB/RW/KL
04-Nov-1999 08:21 AM EDT (04-Nov-1999 1321 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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