More than 500 Falungong Members Hold Silent Protest Outside UN

GENEVA, Mar 20, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse)

More than 500 members of the banned Chinese Falungong sect gathered outside United Nations headquarters early Monday to coincide with the opening of the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Commission.

They practised collective meditation exercises in the Buddhist and Taoist tradition, and prayed silently in orderly lines. Falungong leaders condemn the repression of religious freedom in China, and the arrest by Beijing authorities of thousands of the sect's followers.

As in previous years, the US State Department has prepared a resolution condemning the Chinese regime for repressing its opponents and the lack of political and cultural freedom in the country.

((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)