(Clearwisdom.net)

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Falun Gong members are considering lodging a complaint against police for allegedly using force to suppress their sit-in outside Beijing's Liaison Office. The [group] members claim police action outside the office in Western District on Saturday left three practitioners injured. They will also appeal to legislators for help.

Police yesterday issued another warning to practitioners who continued the sit-in. The [group] members were asked to leave the area and remove banners or face prosecution for causing an obstruction.

Officials seized three banners on Saturday but [group] members replaced them the next day.

One banner called for an end to President Jiang Zemin's "state terrorism" against Falun Gong.

A spokesman for the Falun Gong Group in Hong Kong, Kan Hung-cheung, said: "The police used excessive force against our members last Saturday. They also abused the laws by accusing us of offences we've not committed."

He said three practitioners were injured on Saturday after 20 police officers helped Food and Environmental Hygiene officials remove the banners.

The protesters were accused of displaying the banners without permission.

Mr Kan said it was the first time practitioners had been injured during clashes with police in Hong Kong.

Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Charles Wong Doon-yee said: "The officers only used minimum force to help the Food and Environmental Hygiene officials when Falun Gong members tried to get back the banners."

He said that before the removal, 27 warnings had been issued to the Falun Gong members since the sit-in started on August 25.

http://hongkong.scmp.com/ZZZ51WIERTC.html