CESNUR - Falun Gong Updates, December 10-12, 1999

HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nearly 900 practitioners of China's banned spiritual movement Falun Gong packed a Hong Kong convention hall for a meeting on Sunday, but said they had no intention of using the southern Chinese territory as a base.

Falun Gong, a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, meditation and breathing exercises designed to harness inner energy and healing powers, has been branded an ``evil cult'' by Beijing which views it as a serious threat to communist rule.

China's Commissioner of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, Ma Yuzhen, told government radio on Sunday that Falun Gong practitioners should not use Hong Kong as a base.

Ma said local Falun Gong members had made it clear they intended to use it as a base when they brought in the followers from overseas to the territory. Beijing-backed newspapers in the territory have echoed the warnings.

But Kan Hung-cheung, a spokesman for the group, said: ``We've no intention to make Hong Kong a base.''

China banned the popular movement in July after its members demanded official recognition of their faith in a series of bold protests, including one which saw 10,000 followers surround the central leadership compound in Beijing in April.

Followers say that attempts to make contact with Chinese government officials have been rebuffed.

In Hong Kong, which was promised a high degree of autonomy under the terms of Britain's return of the territory to China in 1997, the government has said Falun Gong will be tolerated as long as it remains within the law.

American mayors and governors make proclamations all the time. It's not every day they take them back or apologize for them.

But that's what Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening and the mayors of Seattle, Baltimore and San Francisco have done since the Chinese Embassy complained about proclamations honoring Li Hongzhi, exiled leader of the Falun Gong spiritual and exercise movement. Even the State Department got into the act, according to Glendening's office, by providing advice about how to word a letter of apology.

The reason for the apologies: fear of hurting local trade relationships with China, which has branded Falun Gong a "cult" and banned the group.

In Seattle, for example, Mayor Paul Schell, a former port commissioner whose city is home to Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp. and agricultural exporters, "is well aware of the amount of trade we do with China," said a spokesman. Although Chinese Ambassador Li Zhaoxing did not threaten retaliation for the "Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong Days" that were to coincide with the recent World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, the ambassador "did make his displeasure clear in no uncertain terms," said Schell aide Clifford Traisman.

Falun Gong angered the Chinese government this year by holding a demonstration in Beijing; tens of thousands of its followers have been jailed. The movement's leader Li, who lives in New York, and his U.S. followers have gathered statements of support from across the United States, and a congressional resolution called on China to "stop its persecution" of "a peaceful and nonviolent form of personal belief." A Falun Gong spokesman said 12,000 people signed a petition of support in Seattle before the WTO meeting.

But Schell, when confronted by the Chinese envoy in his office during the chaotic WTO meeting, rescinded his proclamation. He said that he was not familiar with the group and that, as host to the WTO meeting, his city would avoid taking positions on "sensitive trade and political issues."

"I hope you will convey my regrets to your government for this unfortunate situation," Schell wrote Nov. 30 in a contrite letter to the envoy. "I assure you that there was never any intent to cause embarrassment or insult to . . . China."

On Nov. 23, Glendening's office sent a similar message. "Please accept our humblest and most sincere apology for the misunderstanding caused by the awarding of a Certificate of Honorary Citizenship to Li Hongzhi," Elizabeth R. Pyke, director of Maryland's federal relations office, wrote in a letter that Glendening press secretary Michelle Byrnie said was reviewed by the State Department. "We meant no offense to you or to the people of the People's Republic of China."

A State Department spokesman denied giving local or state governments guidance on apologies. Publicly, department officials condemned China's treatment of Falun Gong followers.

"This is unbelievable," said Zhang Erping, a Falun Gong spokesman in New York. "This is kowtowing to Chinese pressure for trade."

"These are spineless acts," added Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who learned of the letters from U.S. followers of Falun Gong.

Byrnie said Pyke's letter apologized without actually rescinding the honorary citizenship. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) called that a "distinction without a difference" and said it was a "green light to the Chinese government to carry on with torture and repression."

The Chinese Embassy has trumpeted the reversals on its World Wide Web site, calling Falun Gong a "laughingstock in Seattle" and quoting Schell as saying he was "embarrassed by making such a careless proclamation."

Most municipal and state proclamations are made with little thought in response to requests by constituents. Yesterday Glendening issued a statement calling certificates of honorary citizenship "gestures of hospitality to visitors." He said he issues anywhere from a few per week to hundreds in a single day. Honorary citizenship "grants no official privileges or status, and does not carry or imply endorsement of . . . any personal religious, philosophical or political beliefs," he said.

Because the certificate had no political meaning, Glendening added, there was no reason to revoke it.

He also noted that Maryland was founded in 1634 "by those who fled oppression to seek religious freedom and liberty" and that "those who support the principles and values of tolerance . . . will always find a warm welcome in Maryland."

HONG KONG (AP) -- With arms raised, eyes closed, and gongs and Chinese string instruments playing off a loudspeaker, about 600 Falun Gong practitioners held an "exercise session" today outside the Hong Kong offices of Beijing's state-run media.

They wanted to submit an open letter addressed to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, but the doors were locked at the Hong Kong headquarters of China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, and nobody came out to receive the letter.

"This is not a protest," said Kan Hung-cheung, the group's spokesman.

Beijing's media has labeled Falun Gong "an evil cult ... which is harmful to people's minds and bodies," and mainland authorities have rounded up hundreds of the sect's members in China. Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong -- the only place in China where the group is allowed to practice -- responded en masse with protests along with practitioners from mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and Western Europe.

Police said that about 20 officers had been deployed around the sidewalks across Xinhua's offices to watch over today's demonstration.

"We urge the Chinese government to consider open dialogue and clear any misunderstandings about Falun Gong," added Kan, a restaurateur who has been a member for three years. He was one of the 15 practitioners who left the letter at Xinhua's doorstep.

Falun Gong blends slow-motion meditation exercises and ideas from Taoism, Buddhism and Falun Gong's U.S.-based founder, Li Hongzhi. Practitioners say Falun Gong promotes health and good citizenship.

"Can Falun Gong truly scare people like fierce floods and savage beasts?" the letter said. "Does Falun Gong really present a danger to the Communist Party, the state, society and the human race?"

Kan said that membership in Hong Kong had dwindled since the crackdown early this year in the mainland. They feared that Beijing's control would extend here -- despite assurances from Hong Kong leaders that religious freedom would be upheld.

Like many of those sitting on the concrete pavement with legs crossed in meditation, 21-year old university student Liu Feng was perplexed that Beijing should suppress the group so harshly.

International members of the group detained in mainland China and deported to Hong Kong early this month displayed bruise marks on the arms and chests, saying Falun Gong members were occasionally beaten during interrogation by mainland police.

"I don't understand why the Chinese leaders are like that. There's nothing bad about Falun Gong," said Liu, who took an 18-day break from his studies in Ireland to join Saturday's mass exercises.

With three suitcases in tow, Liu joined the mass exercises looking calm and fresh from a 14-hour flight from Dublin. The trip was worth it, he said, if only "to let the Chinese leaders understand Falun Gong."

Hundreds of followers of the Falun Gong movement have held a demonstration in Hong Kong - the only part of China where the sect is not outlawed. They were demanding that the Chinese authorities end their ban on Falun Gong, which Beijing has called "an evil cult" and a threat to national security. Many of the group's followers on the mainland have been arrested since the ban was imposed, including a group of 40 who protested in Tiananmen Square during a visit to China by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. About 600 demonstrators, including some from Taiwan, Australia, Canada and western Europe, paraded through the streets of Hong Kong waving banners and banging gongs.

They tried to present an open letter, addressed to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, to officials at the Hong Kong headquarters of the state-run Xinhua news agency. But the doors had been locked before their arrival.

The letter read: "Can Falun Gong truly scare people like fierce floods and savage beasts?

"Does Falun Gong really present a danger to the Communist Party, the state, society and the human race?"

Tax evasion

Police said about 20 officers had been deployed around the Xinhua building, but there were no reports of any arrests.

Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said: "We want to urge the Chinese government to stop the suppression and open a peaceful dialogue and resolve issues in a peaceful way. We are good people, we are not a threat."

Xinhua reported on Friday that Falun Gong and its founder, Li Hongzhi had been fined 10m yuan ($1.2m) for tax evasion.

China's leadership was stunned when 10,000 members descended on Tiananmen Square in April to demand official recognition of their faith.

Falun Gong, which teaches a blend of Buddhism, Taoism and exercise, boasted millions of followers in China before the crackdown.

Since then, there have been hundreds of reported arrests of Falun Gong followers and Chinese civil servants have been ordered to leave the movement or else face dismissal or demotion

HONG KONG, Dec 11, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Hundreds of Falungong followers from around the world are expected to gather in central Hong Kong Saturday to demand an end to Beijing's crackdown on the spiritual movement, organizers said.

A handful of practitioners have already met outside the Xinhua news agency, China's de facto liaison office here, to demand respect for freedom of religion and expression in China, witnesses said.

"There are practitioners from all over the world (in Hong Kong). Some of them have tried to go to China but have been expelled," said co-organizer Belinda Pang.

"This is the only place in China where we can practice Falungong freely and we want to tell the Chinese government to initiate a peaceful dialogue with us."

The movement was banned in China in July but is tolerated in Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" concept. Falungong claims millions of adherents worldwide and promotes high moral values and meditation.

It was outlawed in China as a "heretical cult" after 10,000 followers peacefully demonstrated outside the Communist party headquarters in Beijing in April, demanding greater freedom to practice their beliefs.

Chinese officials have said it poses the biggest threat to national security since the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement.

Hundreds of Chinese Falungong followers are believed to have been detained or arrested under the crackdown, which has spread to other so-called Qi Gong movements common throughout China.

Pang said followers would present an open letter to Xinhua later Saturday calling for Beijing to end the crackdown and cancel its arrest warrant on sect leader Li Hongzhi, who lives in the United States.

"We want them to resolve the current crisis in China and release the practitioners that have been detained," Pang said.

The group, on the first day of a three-day conference here, plans to parade through Hong Kong Saturday and has received permission to gather at the Chinese foreign ministry office on Monday.

"This is not a protest -- that's too strong for us. We do not shout or fight, we just want to send a message," Pang said.

On Friday, state press in China reported Falungong and Li had been fined 10 million-yuan (1.2 million dollars) for tax evasion.

"The evidence fully exposes Li Hongzhi's true evil nature of taking advantage of the Chinese people to further his political ambitions and become filthy rich in the process," tax officials were quoted as saying.

Police yesterday approved a mass rally to be held by Falun Gong followers at the local Chinese Foreign Ministry office on Monday. The march is the first attempt by the sect, which is outlawed on the mainland, to expand its protests to other mainland political offices in the SAR.

The group has already protested in front of the Xinhua office.

Members will proceed from Harcourt Garden in Admiralty to the ministry building in Kennedy Road.

So far, they have confined their "spiritual exercises" to the Xinhua headquarters in Happy Valley.

"We wish to pass on an appeal letter to the ministry for direct and peaceful dialogue in order to resolve the present crisis," a statement from the sect said.

Up to 1,000 local and overseas followers are expected to gather outside Xinhua headquarters today for qi gong exercises, and attend a conference at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre tomorrow.

Mainland authorities outlawed the Falun Gong in July.

The authorities dealt another blow to the outlawed Falun Gong yesterday by announcing the sect faced fines of more than 10 million yuan (HK$9.3 million) for evading tax. Sources close to the sect said since most key members had been arrested and branch offices closed, the fines meant the authorities would confiscate cash and property from the offices, bank accounts and from the publishing houses that printed books and other sect literature.

"In the past three months, the tax authorities have discovered that branch organisations of Falun Gong and its US-based founder, Li Hongzhi, have been dodging taxes," Xinhua quoted officials as saying.

The news agency said the investigations covered 549 Falun Gong branch offices, 142 manufacturers of Falun Gong materials and 338 shops that sold them.

The Shandong Provincial Youth Science and Technology Service Centre was accused of owing 2.79 million yuan in taxes.

Falun Gong organisations on the mainland earned more than 22 million yuan from selling books, posters and videos, Xinhua said.

"Retailers earned more than 66.6 million yuan in profits from selling Falun Gong materials," an official was quoted as saying.

Beijing has asked Interpol to arrest Mr Li on tax evasion and cult-related charges but its requests have been rejected.

Falun Gong, which combines Buddhist and Taoist teaching with exercises such as qi gong, was banned in July after the authorities said it was an "evil cult" responsible for the deaths of more than 1,400 people.

HONG KONG (AP) - With arms raised, eyes closed, and gongs and Chinese string instruments playing off a loudspeaker, about 600 Falun Gong practitioners held an ``exercise session'' today outside the Hong Kong offices of Beijing's state-run media.

``This is not a protest,'' said Kan Hung-cheung, the group's spokesman.

Beijing's media has labeled Falun Gong ``an evil cult ... which is harmful to people's minds and bodies,'' and mainland authorities have rounded up hundreds of the sect's members in China.

Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong - the only place in China where the group is allowed to practice - responded en masse with protests along with practitioners from mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and Western Europe.

Police said that about 20 officers had been deployed around the sidewalks across Xinhua's offices to watch over today's demonstration.

``We urge the Chinese government to consider open dialogue and clear any misunderstandings about Falun Gong,'' added Kan, a restaurateur who has been a member for three years. He was one of the 15 practitioners who left the letter at Xinhua's doorstep.

Falun Gong blends slow-motion meditation exercises and ideas from Taoism, Buddhism and Falun Gong's U.S.-based founder, Li Hongzhi. Practitioners say Falun Gong promotes health and good citizenship.

``Can Falun Gong truly scare people like fierce floods and savage beasts?'' the letter said. ``Does Falun Gong really present a danger to the Communist Party, the state, society and the human race?''

Kan said that membership in Hong Kong had dwindled since the crackdown early this year in the mainland. They feared that Beijing's control would extend here - despite assurances from Hong Kong leaders that religious freedom would be upheld.

Like many of those sitting on the concrete pavement with legs crossed in meditation, 21-year old university student Liu Feng was perplexed that Beijing should suppress the group so harshly.

Foreign members of the group detained in mainland China and deported to Hong Kong early this month displayed bruise marks on the arms and chests, saying Falun Gong members were occasionally beaten during interrogation by mainland police.

``I don't understand why the Chinese leaders are like that. There's nothing bad about Falun Gong,'' said Liu, who took an 18-day break from his studies in Ireland to join Saturday's mass exercises.

With three suitcases in tow, Liu joined the mass exercises looking calm and fresh from a 14-hour flight from Dublin. The trip was worth it, he said, if only ``to let the Chinese leaders understand Falun Gong.''

"Falun Gong members march through Hong Kong" (Australian Broadcasting Corp., December 11, 1999) About 800 members of the Falungong spiritual group have marched through Hong Kong appealing to the Chinese Government to stop the repression of its members on the mainland.

Four Australians expelled from China a fortnight ago were amongst the marchers.

Dressed mostly in bright yellow and waving colourful banners the practitioners marched from the New China newsagency to a central park under a heavy police escort.

The four Australians expelled by Beijing a fortnight ago said they all intended to return to China soon.

Two of them were handcuffed and roughed up by the police.

The Chinese government which has not commented on today's action banned the 100 million strong spiritual group in July describing it as an evil cult.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of followers of China's banned Falun Gong spiritual movement Saturday held a demonstration in Hong Kong calling on Beijing to lift repression of the movement and open a dialogue.

A small band of Falung Gong followers placed petitions before the locked doors of China's official Xinhua News Agency as scores of others sat cross-legged in rows under a bright sun across the street.

``We want to urge the Chinese government to stop the suppression (of Falun Gong) and open a peaceful dialogue and resolve issues in a peaceful way,'' said Kan Hung-cheung, 48, a Hong Kong businessman and Falun Gong spokesman.

``The main purpose of today is so more people around the world and the Chinese government understand Falun Gong,'' Kan said. ``We are good people...we are not a threat.''

Falun Gong followers are in Hong Kong, where the movement is legal, to share experiences with each other in a two-day gathering expected to test the territory's autonomy from Beijing.

Organizers said more than 600 followers from around the world -- including the United States, Australia, Japan and as far away as Ireland and Sweden -- were present for Saturday's peaceful sit-in.

About 1,000 are expected to attend a Sunday conference at Hong Kong's Convention and Exhibition Center -- the territory's premier convention venue -- at which followers will read testimonials describing their experiences with Falun Gong.

China banned the popular movement in July after its members demanded official recognition of their faith in a series of bold protests, including one which saw 10,000 of them surround the central leadership compound in Beijing in April.

Falun Gong is a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, meditation and breathing exercises designed to harness inner energy and healing powers. But Beijing calls the group an ``evil cult'' and views it as a serious threat to communist rule.

DEFENDING FALUN GONG

``The practice is correct. As a practitioner, I want to support Falun Gong,'' said Haruhisa Inose, 41, a clerk for a shipping company in Japan.

Since July, authorities have arrested at least 150 of its leaders and jailed some for up to 12 years. It has sent an unknown number to labor camps without trial and expelled several foreign members of the group.

But in Hong Kong, which retains a high degree of autonomy after Britain returned the territory to China in 1997, the government has said Falun Gong will be tolerated as long as it remains within the law.

The group had no trouble obtaining police permits to hold Saturday's demonstration or to rent facilities for the Sunday meeting. But the convention center has tightened security.

Practitioners say that unlike religions that emphasize spiritual growth, Falun Gong brings physical benefits as well.

During Saturday's demonstration, Falun Gong followers stood on folded newspapers or mats, conducting breathing exercises and meditating as slow music drifted from portable tape recorders.

Canadian Zenon Dolnycky, 21, said he stumbled across Falun Gong on the Internet.

``It was a new beginning, I could take on life from a truthful and compassionate (way) and get rid of all the negative stuff from partying and doing drugs,'' he said.

Pro-China elements in Hong Kong are less enamoured. The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper carried full-page coverage of a Friday conference organized by the Chinese-language daily to ``expose and criticize'' Falun Gong.

The group, originating in China, claims a global membership of over 100 million, although Beijing estimates it has only about two million members in China.

HONG KONG, Dec. 11 (Kyodo) - About 600 members of Falun Gong from Hong Kong and 20 countries left a petition at the doorstep of China's de facto government office on Saturday urging Beijing to stop harassing Falun Gong followers in China, and later marched in downtown Hong Kong.

''We are absolutely not trying to start a confrontation or protest,'' said Kan Hung-cheung, a Hong Kong spokesman for the meditation and breathing exercise group.

''We are just here to practice our exercises and hope to show to the (Chinese) government how kind, benevolent and peaceful we are,'' Kan said.

Falun Gong members ''absolutely have no intention of opposing the government,'' the spokesman said.

China banned Falun Gong in July, labeling it an ''evil cult,'' following a mammoth but peaceful protest by group members in central Beijing in April.

Chinese authorities have also escalated their crackdown against the group, arresting and jailing its followers.

The Saturday mass action in Hong Kong was attended by Falun Gong members from Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, the United States, Canada, Britain and France, among others.

Participants also practiced Falun Gong breathing exercises at an open space across from the office of Xinhua News Agency, China's de facto government office in the territory.

A representative of the participants tried to hand petition letters to Xinhua, but had to leave them at the doorstep of the office's main entrance because no one was there to receive them.

Following their breathing exercises, the participants marched toward central Hong Kong to call the attention of Hong Kong residents to the plight of Falun Gong members in China.

On Saturday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa cautioned the group members, saying they must strictly abide by the laws of Hong Kong, the only territory in China where they can practice openly.

''These activities must comply strictly with Hong Kong laws, and the organizers and participants must not act in any manner against the interest of China, Hong Kong or 'one country, two systems,''' he said.

Hong Kong, Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Falun Gong, a semi- religious group denounced as an ``evil cult'' by mainland authorities, held a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese government's main office in Hong Kong.

Some 500 members of the group, who have been arriving in Hong Kong for a worldwide conference starting tomorrow, gathered opposite the offices of the Xinhua News Agency in Wanchai. A delegation from the group delivered a petition, although no officials were on hand to receive it.

``We have no interest into turning Hong Kong into a Falun Dafa center,'' said Fiona Ching, 45, a spokeswoman for the group. ``We just want to make people understand what Falun Dafa really is.''

The central government banned Falun Gong in July after thousands of members protested outside the leadership compound in Beijing, claiming ill-treatment by police. Hong Kong, which has been promised 50 years of autonomy from mainland rule, permits the Falun Gong provided its devotees don't break Hong Kong laws.

The Falun Gong claims to offer its members spiritual uplifting if they follow a mix of moral precepts, meditation and Buddhist scriptures.

Today's protest posed little trouble for police. The largely middle aged crowd, at least half of which were women, carried banners and wore yellow tee-shirts bearing slogans urging peace and forbearance.

The group scheduled a public demonstration of their exercises, and a march for later this afternoon.

Threat

Beijing banned Falun Gong claiming it was a threat to public order. The government has requested the U.S. government to extradite Li Hongzhi, the group's leader, and asked the British government to ban him from entering the U.K.

China's official Xinhua news agency yesterday claimed Li and his organization were guilty of tax evasion, adding to the list of crimes which include subversion and fraud.

To be sure, the Hong Kong government's own forbearance may be tested if the Falun Gong uses Hong Kong as a base for their operations in the rest of China. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said the government has ``taken note'' of the group's activities in the territory.

The government is permitting the Falun Gong convention, which organizers say will attract about 1,000 ``practitioners,'' including a 12-strong Swedish delegation.

Still, Tung issued a stern warning.

``Activities must comply strictly with Hong Kong laws, and the organizers and participants must not act in any manner which is against the interest of China, Hong Kong or `One Country, Two Systems,'' Tung said in a statement.

BEIJING, Dec 10, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's outlawed Falungong spiritual group and its founder Li Hongzhi have been hit with a 10 million-yuan (1.2 million dollars) fine for tax evasion, state press reported Friday.

"In a preliminary survey done between 1994 and 1998, Li Hongzhi and Falun Dafa Reasearch Society acquired 2.68 million yuan (323,500 dollars) from giving lectures and conducting other activities without declaring any tax," Xinhua news agency reported.

Other Falungong organizations nationwide earned more than 22 million yuan (2.6 million dollars) from selling materials, books and audio visual products, it said.

Falungong was outlawed nationwide on July 22 after the group staged a series of protests nationwide calling for the protection of their right to meet and practice morning meditation exercises in Chinese parks.

Following an April 25 demonstration of some 10,000 Falungong followers around the headquarters of the Communist Party in central Beijing, the government has moved to brand the group the biggest threat to political stability since the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests.

Over 35,000 followers of the group have landed in police custody, while trials of the groups leaders have resulted in prison sentences of up to 12 years.

An arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi was issued in July, but Chinese attempts to have him extradited from his exile in the US have so far failed.

The Falungong group advocates clean living and high moral standards and boasts a following of up to 100 million people world wide.

"Falun Gong says will not base in Hong Kong"

"Falungong defy warnings and meet in Hong Kong"

"Falun Gong Honors Rescinded: State, City Proclamations for Spiritual Group Irked Chinese"

"Members of banned sect rally in Hong Kong"

"Falun Gong demonstration"

"Worldwide Falungong Members Demonstrate In Hong Kong"

"Falun Gong rally approved"

"Outlawed sect fined $9.3m for evading tax"

"Banned Sect Holds Session in Hong Kong"

"Falun Gong Followers Meet in HK, Appeal to China"

"600 Falun Gong members march in Hong Kong"

"Falun Gong Protests Near Chinese Govt Office in HK"

"Falungong Fined 10 Million For Tax Dodging"