Scores of Falun Gong Held in Anniversary Protest

Reuters Photo

By Paul Eckert

BEIJING (Reuters) - Scores of defiant members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement were detained in Tiananmen Square on Tuesday for demonstrating to mark the anniversary of a mass sit-in that sparked a crackdown by China's Communist rulers.

Despite the huge presence of plainclothes and uniformed police, small bands of adherents of the banned movement darted from the throngs of Chinese and foreign tourists around the square to stage peaceful protests against the crackdown.

They either struck the meditative postures of their faith -- branded an ``evil cult'' by Chinese authorities -- or unfurled small yellow banners with the movement's name written in red characters, witnesses said.

As each group launched its protest, they were pounced on by some of the hundreds of police watching over the vast square, the symbolic heart of China pulsating with tourists under the gaze of a large portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong.

The protesters were dragged unprotesting into white police vans standing by in the square, across a main road running in front of the Forbidden City, and driven away, the witnesses said.

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The protests, apparently coordinated because small groups of demonstrators popped up in different parts of the square, lasted for several hours.

At lunchtime, after a lull that suggested the protests might be ending, two small groups of protesters sprinted across a main road into the square and tried to unfurl their yellow banners, witnesses said.

Before they could unfurl their banners, the five men in each group, who appeared to be in their 30s, were wrestled to the ground by police and taken away, the witnesses said.

The biggest group of protesters taken away, about 15 strong, included a small child, witnesses said.

Foreign reporters and photographers were also questioned, and some had their media accreditation cards taken away. Some cameramen had their videotapes confiscated.

A Year Of Protests

Small, brief and peaceful protests have been a feature on Tiananmen Square since April 25 last year, when 10,000 Falun Gong members staged a peaceful sit-in around the Chinese leadership compound nearby.

They were calling for an end to what the movement, which claims a global membership of 70 to 100 million, calls official harassment and for official recognition of their faith.

The Communist Party, which says there were never more than two million members in China, responded by banning the movement and launching a massive crackdown which included sending some of the movement's leaders to prison for up to 18 years.

The movement has said consistently that it poses no threat to the Communist Party and expresses bafflement at the vehemence of the campaign against it.

Reuters Photo

``Falun Gong practitioners have no political interests whatsoever. They merely strive to cultivate 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance' in daily life,'' the movement said in a statement marking the anniversary.

It called for a dialogue with the authorities.

``A peaceful resolution would benefit not only practitioners, but also the entire people of China and their government,'' said the statement issued from New York, where founder Li Hongzhi has his home.

Adherents in Taiwan, which China regards as a rebel province, joined the call for an end to the crackdown.

``People in China do not deserve such treatment. They should have the same rights as us in Taiwan,'' said Arthur Liao, a Falun Gong instructor teaching at a Taipei park.

Major Police Operation

Police tried on Tuesday to keep down the number of Falun Gong members -- who usually admit their adherence to the movement if asked whether they belong to it -- getting onto Tiananmen Square.

Police swarmed through a nearby main railway station checking identity papers and asking questions. They did the same at a subway station close to the square.

Witnesses said it was impossible to give an accurate count of how many people had been detained on a cool, gray day. But they said scores had been hauled away.

Accounts by witnesses of previous demonstrations have tended to underestimate the daily police haul of mostly middle-aged or elderly devotees from distant provinces who risk arrest and possible beatings to plead for a reversal of the official ban.

The government says most of those picked up are given lectures on the ``evil'' nature of Falun Gong -- a synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and meditation -- and sent home.

Persistent demonstrators are often sent to labor camps, an ''administrative'' punishment that does not require a trial.

Falun Gong says at least 5,000 members have been sent to labor camps.

The Communist Party was stunned by the April 25 demonstration last year and unnerved by Falun Gong's nationwide organizational skills.

Alongside the arrests of leading members, Beijing launched a drive to discredit the group and root out adherents from state organizations, schools and factories.

It also launched a major propaganda campaign, ridiculing Falun Gong beliefs and blaming them for 1,500 deaths by suicide or from refusing medical care.

• Dozens of Falung Gong Held in Anniversary Protest (April 25)
• Falun Gong Protests Mark Anniversary, Dozens Held (April 24)
• Falun Gong Marks Anniversary With Protests (April 24)
• China Faces Anniversary of Falun Gong Debut Demo (April 23)
• Group Says 3 Sect Members Die in Custody in China (April 20)