CNN: Crackdown continues on Falun Gong anniversary

July 20, 2001

HONG KONG, China -- China detained several suspected Falun Gong followers and tried five more as world wide protests commemorated Beijing's crackdown on the spiritual movement.

At least six people were arrested at Tiananmen Square on Friday. [...] It was unclear whether those detained on Friday were Falun Gong members, but the square has been the site of repeated protests by the group, especially on key anniversaries.

Since the crackdown began, thousands of followers have been sent to labor camps [...]

The group has since taken root in the United States, Australia, Singapore and South Korea. Taiwan is believed to have the biggest following outside China, with 100,000 adherents.

International protests

Thousands of Falun Gong adherents gathered in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and the U.S. to mark the anniversary.

Around two thousand followers gathered in Washington, including 500 from Taiwan.

"We came here to try to send out an urgent call to rescue Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China," said organizer Lisa Nappi.

About a dozen members of the U.S. Congress -- where voices have been raised in protest against China's human rights record -- also attended the rally.

Among them was Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives on Wednesday condemning China's treatment of Falun Gong followers.

[...]

In Australia, about 40 Falun Gong followers ended their protest -- a 10-day walk from Sydney to the country's capital Canberra.

Elsewhere, in Taiwan, some 1,200 followers planned to hold a group exercise and candle-lit vigil in Taipei as a protest.

Practitioners in Hong Kong -- where Falun Gong is not illegal -- gathered outside government offices and staged a candle-lit vigil.

Hong Kong Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung told CNN that 255 practitioners have been tortured to death on the mainland. "Today is the day Beijing started large-scale crackdown 2 years ago. A lot of our followers were arrested. We want to tell the world that our practitioners on the mainland have suffered since then," said Kan.

[...]

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/07/20/falun.protest/index.html