04/13/2002

About 150 members of the Falun Gong last night staged a two-hour candlelight vigil in Chater Garden, Central, urging Beijing to stop persecution of the group's practitioners. The group had gathered to protest against China's reported crackdown on Falun Gong in the northern city of Changchun. Protesters claimed 5,000 members had been arrested and nearly 100 tortured to death in Changchun since March 5. Mainland officials say no Falun Gong members have been persecuted to death.