US scientist being detained in China

SAN DIEGO, Dec 22 (AFP) - A Scripps Research Institute scientist with ties to a banned meditation movement is being detained in China and, because she is not a US citizen, is being denied access to American officials, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday

Lili Feng, 47, was arrested on December 15 by authorities in the city of Shenzhen while she was visiting a friend, the Union-Tribune said.

Chinese officials contacted Monday confirmed that Feng -- who works for the San Diego-based institute -- was being detained at the Futian Public Safety Bureau Detention Center in Shenzhen.

Authorities would not reveal the reason for her arrest.

But Feng's family and friends told the paper she was caught up by Beijing's suppression of Falungong, a meditation movement that claims 100 million adherents throughout the world, with about 70 million in China.

Feng's husband, Yiyang Xia, said he was informed of his wife's arrest by a Hong Kong businessman who is also a Falungong member. The businessman was arrested the same day as Feng and expelled from the area.

"I'm worried sick," he told the Union-Tribune. "We don't know what's going to happen to her. Until she's home, we cannot be sure she's safe."

Feng, who has worked for Scripps for the past 11 years, is not a US citizen but has permanent resident status, the paper said.

Because Feng is not a citizen, American consular officials in China have not been granted access to her or information regarding her arrest.

"We don't know anything about her," an official from the US Consulate in Guangzhou told the paper.

"We raised the issue with the foreign affairs office, and they told us this lady and two other Chinese nationals will be treated in accordance with Chinese law."