Falun Dafa Members Continue Protests
BEIJING -- Chinese police detained at least 20 people in Tiananmen Square on Tuesday as members of the banned Falun Dafa spiritual movement resumed protests over the sentencing of four group leaders. Anxious to prevent the peaceful demonstrations group members have repeatedly staged in defiance of the ban, police closely watched the square and questioned those they deemed suspicious. Police surrounded 10 followers who tried to protest, grabbing one by the arms and pushing him into a van. Since outlawing the group five months ago, China has detained thousands of rank-and-file followers. Some who refused to recant their beliefs or boldly practiced in public have been sent to labor camps while trials have been reserved for key organizers. Three Falun Dafa followers with residency rights in the U.S. were freed Monday after 13 days in detention in the southern city of Shenzhen. On Tuesday, they joined other followers meditating and protesting outside a Chinese government agency in Hong Kong where Falun Dafa isn't banned. "I went back to China to tell them about Falun Gong. Why couldn't they understand this? I told them I wanted to tell the Communist Party we were good, harmless people," said one of the three, Feng Lili, outside the Hong Kong headquarters of the Xinhua news agency. |