DATE=7/22/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-FALUN GONG (L)
NUMBER=2-264683
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: More than a hundred protesters from the Falun
Gong spiritual movement have been arrested in
Beijing's Tiananmen Square (Saturday morning), as they
marked the first anniversary of China's ban on their
group. VOA's Leta Hong Fincher in Beijing watched many
of the arrests being made.
TEXT: Small groups of protests broke out continuously
throughout the square, only to be suppressed almost
immediately by the hundreds of plainclothes and
uniformed police looking for any sign of trouble.
However, one group of at least a dozen men and women
unfurled a long yellow banner with red Chinese
characters from the Falun Gong movement. They held
onto the banner for several minutes as they struggled
with police, before being shoved into a waiting van
with the window shades pulled down.
Another group of half a dozen middle-aged women sat
together in the lotus position until they attracted a
small crowd of onlookers. Two police vans drove up
swiftly, with a megaphone blaring "Move on!" One of
the women called out, "I'm not doing anything!" as two
plainclothes policemen grabbed her by the arms.
Another plainclothes officer pulled a young man by the
hair for about 20 meters to the nearest police van.
Police constantly stopped middle-aged visitors to the
square and in the underground walkways nearby, asking
them questions and searching their bags. For the last
week, protesters have been converging on Beijing from
all over the country to mark the first anniversary of
the government crackdown on their group.
Several government-run newspapers ran a lengthy front-
page editorial Saturday, calling the Falun Gong a
poisonous torrent and an evil force, which is anti-
humanity. The editorial, which reflects the official
view of the Communist Party, warns that the campaign
against the Falun Gong will be long-term, tortuous and
complicated. (signed)
NEB/LHF/PLM
22-Jul-2000 04:08 AM EDT (22-Jul-2000 0808 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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