AP Worldstream: Falun Gong holds peaceful rally decrying obstruction charges against Swiss, Hong Kong [practitioners]

March 21, 2002 Thursday

On the eve of a court appearance by 16 Falun Gong [practitioners] charged with obstruction during a protest, about 120 [practitioners] of the meditation [group] staged another demonstration Thursday to accuse Hong Kong of bowing to pressure from Beijing.

"We're sure we did not break any law," said Erich Bachmann, 41, one of the four Swiss Falun Gong [practitioners] arrested a week ago during a scuffle with police outside China's government liaison office here.

"It looks like the police are under pressure from mainland China," said Bachmann, a native of the northern Swiss village of Kreuzlingen, who had planned to protest in Beijing but was refused entry to the mainland. The Swiss and 12 Hong Kong Falun Gong [practitioners] were to appear in court Friday morning so authorities can formally read out two charges of obstruction that could put them in jail for up to six months.

Falun Gong is outlawed [...] in mainland China but remains legal in Hong Kong, where its members frequently protest the brutal suppression of Falun Gong carried out in China by President Jiang Zemin's government.

The protest last week led to arrests after the Falun Gong [practitioners] refused police orders that they move from directly in front of the door of the Chinese liaison office to an approved site just a few steps away.

Hong Kong officials say they had no intent of stifling Falun Gong's message but instead were responding to repeated complaints from the Chinese liaison office that the protesters were obstructing the area in front.

Falun Gong has appealed to Justice Secretary Elsie Leung and lawmakers to have the charges thrown out, thus far without luck.

Gathering Thursday afternoon in Hong Kong's Chater Garden park, the Falun Gong [practitioners] displayed a large wreath of blue and white flowers to mourn the deaths of 385 Chinese members that they claim were persecuted and killed by mainland authorities.

China disputes allegations that police have been killing Falun Gong followers but independent verification is impossible to obtain in the highly secretive mainland.