Chinese authorities are bracing
themselves for a new wave of protests by Falun gong activists in the
lead-up to the first anniversary of last year's mass gathering of
cult members in Beijing.
As many as 200 Falun gong members were arrested in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square yesterday morning during a co-ordinated protest by
the movement, which claims as many as 100 million adherents
worldwide.
According to the Hong Kong-based Information Centre on Human
Rights in China, yesterday's protest was sparked by expectations of
a crackdown on the movement in the lead-up to the April 25
anniversary of last year's mass rally in Tiananmen Square.
The rally saw as many as 10,000 Falun gong members standing in a
silent protest against a government ban on the movement.
The latest protest by the Falun gong is also timely, given next
Tuesday's crucial vote at the United Nations Human Rights Commission
in Geneva on a United States-sponsored motion condemning China's
human rights record.
Washington has tried to move such a motion each year since the
Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, but has been thwarted at each
attempt.
The US claims to have bolstered its numbers for this year's vote,
pointing to what it claims has been a significant deterioration in
China's human rights record over the past 12 months.
Much of that deterioration, according to the US, has stemmed from
the way Chinese authorities have cracked down on the Falun gong
movement.
Many of the movement's members have received hefty jail terms in
the past year, while its assets have been confiscated.
The movement claims that even in recent days the Chinese
authorities have been trying to crash Falun gong websites operating
out of the United States.
