DATE=4/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA / FALUN GONG (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261649
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Chinese police have detained at least three
adherents of the Falun Gong exercise and meditation
group in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on the eve of the
first anniversary of the demonstration that prompted
the government to ban the movement. VOA correspondent
Roger Wilkison reports Tiananmen Square has been
filled with both uniformed and plainclothes police for
the past two days, as Beijing prepares for any sign of
protest by followers of the sect that refuses to go
away.
TEXT: It is almost a daily occurrence, in spite of
the tough campaign against Falun Gong. Suddenly, a
small group of people will unfurl one of the
movement's banners and raise their arms in one of the
meditative postures it teaches them. And with equal
swiftness, plainclothes police appear out of nowhere
and hustle the demonstrators away.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the day when
the world first heard about Falun Gong. About 10-
thousand adherents of the group staged a sit-in around
the leadership compound in Beijing to demand official
recognition of their movement.
That demonstration startled China's leaders, who
immediately determined that the organizational skill
shown by the group constituted a threat to Communist
Party rule. What especially incensed the leadership
was the discovery that thousands of active and retired
members of the military and security forces belonged
to Falun Gong.
Three months later, the crackdown came. Falun Gong
was branded an evil cult. And a campaign that has
seen thousands of people sentenced to hard labor
began. Human rights groups say many members of the
group have been given severe beatings, others have
been forcibly drugged, and at least 15 have died in
police custody.
The government says Falun Gong has caused the deaths
of 15-hundred people who either committed suicide or
refused medical treatment for illnesses. Foreign
Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi -- speaking through an
intrpreter -- says the group was banned to protect the
rights of Chinese citizens.
/// SUN / INTERPRETER ACTUALITY ///
Falun Gong is a cult. It has done harm to the
Chinese people. The ban on Falun Gong is
carried out in accordance with law. And this is
a protection of human rights in the maximum
sense.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
Despite the government's efforts to eliminate Falun
Gong, its adherents keep popping up to stage sporadic
protests in Tiananmen Square and elsewhere.
The Communist Party is frustrated. A commentary by
the official Xinhua news agency, played prominently in
the state-run media, recently said the government has
won a decisive victory over Falun Gong. But it
complained that the group has not recognized its
defeat and continues to make trouble.
Seizing on international sympathy for the group, the
government's latest tactic is to accuse Falun Gong of
being a willing dupe for what it calls anti-China
forces overseas. (Signed)
NEB/RW/FC/KL
24-Apr-2000 06:41 AM EDT (24-Apr-2000 1041 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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