DATE=11/22/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=FALUN GONG/SHENZHEN
NUMBER=2-256430
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=HONG KONG
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chinese authorities have reportedly charged a
suspected leader of the banned Falun Gong spiritual
movement with organizing protests in the Southern
Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. As Amy
Bickers reports from Hong Kong, some see the move as a
warning to Falun Gong practitioners in the Chinese
territory.
TEXT: According to the Hong Kong based- Information
Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in
China, Li Jianhui (PRON: Jee-on-way) was formally
charged Monday by a court in the southern Chinese city
of Shenzhen. Chinese authorities reportedly accused
Mr. Li of using an evil cult to violate the law. The
charge comes more than two months after Mr. Li was
detained by police for allegedly organizing
demonstrations.
The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong in July and
has pledged to wipe it out. Beijing views the popular
group as a threat to society and to the Communist
government. It has ordered millions of Falun Gong
followers to renounce their beliefs or face arrest.
More than 100 Falun Gong leaders have been formally
arrested. Many more are said to be in detention or
labor camps, where they are not subject to judicial
proceedings. Hundreds are reportedly awaiting trial.
The charges brought against Mr. Li are viewed by some
Hong Kong activists as a warning to Hong Kong Falun
Gong members. In Hong Kong, the group remains legal,
because of the territory's special autonomous status
within China.
But Chinese authorities are said to be concerned about
growing numbers of Hong Kong-based Falun Gong
practitioners who are traveling to Beijing to protest
the ban.
Last week, police seized four Hong Kong women who
carried a pro-Falun Gong banner in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square. (SIGNED)
NEB/AB/FC/KL
22-Nov-1999 07:10 AM EDT (22-Nov-1999 1210 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
