Vancouver Sun: Falun Gong followers complain of treatment in custody

Saturday, February 16, 2002

Falun Gong practitioner Andrea Hayley claims she was poorly treated by the government while in China

Canadian practitioners of Falun Gong say they were beaten by Chinese police following their arrests in Tiananmen Square during the largest protest yet by foreign Falun Gong followers in China.

Adrian Sturdza, of Toronto, said he had only been in the public square in Beijing a few minutes Wednesday when he was jumped by police.

"They smashed my glasses and I was brought down forcibly and they walked all over me," Sturdza said after arriving in Vancouver on Friday. "I think I have some broken ribs. I have trouble breathing."

Six Canadians -- including Vancouver elementary school teacher Sophia Bronwen Palfrey and Victoria cook Andrea Hayley -- had travelled to China to take part in the protest by Western Falun Gong followers. After being jailed Thursday, they were released by Chinese authorities Friday. China also expelled 33 Americans, four Britons and five Germans, according to news reports.

Hayley didn't even make it to the square before she was arrested.

It was the biggest demonstration in Beijing yet by foreigners against a 21/2-year-old Chinese crackdown on the meditation group. The movement has attracted tens of millions of followers with its slow-motion exercises, and mix of traditional Chinese beliefs and the teachings of its founder, Li Hongzhi