DATE=11/16/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-FALUN GONG (L)
NUMBER=2-256212
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chinese police have detained more followers of the
outlawed spiritual group, Falun Gong, as they staged a
protest on Beijing's Tiananmen Square Tuesday. V-O-A's
Stephanie Ho reports the incident coincided with a visit to
the Chinese capital by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
TEXT: Witnesses say plainclothes police detained around 20
Falun Gong adherents who had unfurled a three-meter-long red
banner that said "Falun Dafa" - another name for their
philosophy.
The protesters, both young and old, stood on the vast square
with their feet spread slightly and their arms outstretched
above their heads in a posture of meditation.
Police knocked their arms down and hustled the followers
into a police van. In the van's hurry to drive away, it hit
one woman bystander, although witnesses say she was not
seriously hurt.
The act of defiance appears to have been timed to coincide
with U-N Secretary-General Annan's visit to Beijing.
U-N staffers say a group of Falun Gong adherents was turned
away from the gate to the U-N compound in Beijing Monday
morning. Shortly afterwards, security was tightened - which
included a visible police presence and the blocking off of
some of the surrounding roads.
Before the U-N Secretary-General arrived in Beijing Sunday,
he said he was puzzled by China's harsh crackdown on Falun
Gong and would raise the issue with Chinese leaders.
At a regular news briefing Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Sun Yuxi, speaking through an interpreter,
acknowledged that the matter was discussed in a meeting
between Mr. Annan and the Chinese Foreign Minister.
/// SUN INTERPRETER ACT ///
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan expounded the positions
taken by the Chinese side on the question of Falun
Gong and also the measures taken by the Chinese side.
/// END ACT ///
Falun Gong members have repeatedly appealed for U-N
intervention, saying they do not oppose the Chinese
government.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and
Democratic Movement in China says five groups of Falun Gong
members around the country have written letters to Mr.
Annan. The Information Center says these letters urge him
to organize an independent U-N fact-finding mission to
determine whether Falun Gong is beneficial or harmful.
The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong in July and has
labeled it "an evil cult." During a heightened crackdown
against the group last month, police rounded up hundreds of
members who descended on Tiananmen Square and staged a
silent protest as the National People's Congress approved
anti-cult legislation.
Last week, in the first of what is expected to be a series
of trials, four Falun Gong leaders in southern Hainan
province were sentenced to up to 12 years in prison. Many
others have been sent to labor camps, an administrative
punishment that does not require a trial. (signed)
NEB/HO/FC
16-Nov-1999 06:46 AM EDT (16-Nov-1999 1146 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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