September 30, 2003

HONG KONG (AP)--About 30 Falun Gong members marched peacefully to government headquarters Tuesday, urging local officials to seek the release of three Hong Kong practitioners detained in mainland China.

Falun Gong spokesman Tony Chan said several Hong Kong leaders, including No. 2 government official Donald Tsang, received petitions but made no commitment to help.

Falun Gong said it wants freedom for detainees including 46-year-old businessmen Chu O-ming, who is serving a five-year prison term in the northeastern city of Tianjin for filing a 2000 lawsuit against China's then-President Jiang Zemin.

Falun Gong also wants help freeing security guard Cheung Yu-chong, 58, who is serving a three-year sentence for possessing Falun Gong pamphlets and VCDs. The third one, businessman Suen Chung-man, 47, is serving four years for keeping Falun Gong VCDs and mailing 40 Falun Gong leaflets to Chinese government offices.

Hong Kong's Security Bureau, which is supposed to assist Hong Kong people who have problems in mainland China, didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

Beijing banned Falun Gong in 1999 [...]. The group remains legal in Hong Kong, a former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 but still enjoys Western-style civil liberties under its local government.

Thousands of its mainland followers have been detained and activists abroad say hundreds of them have died in police custody from beatings or mistreatment. [...]