CESNUR - Falun Gong Updates, December 13, 1999

BEIJING (AP) -- Four members of the banned Chinese meditation group Falun Gong were charged with illegally disclosing information about the alleged fatal beating by police of a fellow Falun Gong adherent, a human rights group reported today.

Falun Gong members reported in October that Zhao Jinhua, who refused to break ties with the group, was beaten to death in police custody in Zhaoxing town, near the city of Zhaoyuan in eastern China's Shandong province.

Liu Jinling, Li Lanying, Chi Yunling and Chen Shihuan were arrested in early November following a police investigation, said the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China.

Last week, the authorities formally charged the four with ``illegally providing intelligence overseas'' -- a charge that could carry a sentence of more than 10 years, the center said.

Falun Gong members have reported numerous unconfirmed cases of beatings and other maltreatment of group members detained since the government banned the movement in July.

Police in Zhaoyuan denied that Zhao was beaten to death.

``I haven't heard anything about the arrests and beatings of Falun Gong practitioners,'' said a Zhaoyuan police official, who identified herself as Miss Ou.

The State Council, China's cabinet, last month denied Zhao had been mistreated and said she suffered a heart attack on Oct. 7 while under police supervision.

Earlier, the Information Center reported that police informed Zhao's family of her sudden death without providing a cause of death. A police pathologist's report showed the cause of death was an attack with an object, but police and government officials threatened the family to try to keep the cause secret, it said.

Falun Gong is a mix of concepts from Buddhism, Taoism and the ideas of its founder, who lives in exile in New York. The government saw the millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the group's organizational abilities as threats to stability and government control.

Unknown numbers of people who refuse to give it up have been put under detention across the country. Trials of leaders of the organization in Beijing are expected soon.

Falun Gong members denied they had any political motives yesterday as a mainland official warned them against using the SAR as a base for subversion. The warning from Foreign Ministry Commissioner Ma Yuzhen came during a three-day gathering by the sect which has attracted more than 900 followers from around the world.

Mr Ma said it was an obvious attempt to exploit Hong Kong's proximity to the mainland.

"The question is very clear now. Falun Gong has been branded as illegal on the mainland. If Hong Kong's Falun Gong followers want to practise, they must not breach local laws.

"But what do they mean in getting overseas Falun Gong followers here? Their aim is crystal clear, isn't it?

"It is because Hong Kong is part of China and Hong Kong is so close to the mainland. They can't deny it," Mr Ma said.

Falun Gong has been outlawed on the mainland where officials described it as an "evil cult". Hundreds of practitioners have been arrested.

However, Falun Gong's Hong Kong spokesman, Kan Hung-cheung, denied the movement was attempting to use Hong Kong as a base against Beijing.

He said the sect was purely religious and the forum had no political motivation.

"What's crystal clear is that the gathering is purely an event for members to gather to share experiences. Members from around the world came voluntarily," Mr Kan said.

Nor were followers testing the bottom line of the "one country, two systems" policy by holding a high-profile gathering in Hong Kong, he said.

"We are confident that as long as we abide by the law, the SAR Government won't cause us any trouble. In fact, we always abide by the law."

He said the sect had not experienced any obstruction from police, even though hundreds of officers were on standby yesterday morning at the Convention and Exhibition Centre where the sect gathered.

At the gathering, members expressed their wish that the mainland would allow them to practise freely, some weeping as they made their appeal.

Mr Kan said members were planning to stage marches to the Office of the Foreign Ministry Commissioner and organise rallies in Macau during the enclave's handover.

On Saturday, Xinhua director Jiang Enzhu said Hong Kong should not become a base for anti-Chinese activity, while Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said Falun Gong must not act against the interests of China or Hong Kong.

Secretary for Home Affairs David Lan Hong-tsung said yesterday it was not a simple matter.

"For example, people can sing if they have the right to sing. But some may think of something other than singing or doing something to make life difficult for the Government.

"The Government will not intervene as long as they observe the law. But they have to be very careful," he said, adding an eye would be kept on overseas followers.

Updated at 2.36pm: Members of the Falun Gong sect marched to the Foreign Ministry on Monday but called off a mass rally, claiming to have achieved their goals. A handful of protesters from the religious group walked from Central to the central government's representative office in Mid-Levels, carrying banners and watched by police who had given permission for the demonstration.

The members were not allowed in to the building on Kennedy Road and their request for talks with ministry officials was rejected.

Beijing banned the sect in July, denouncing it as an ''evil cult'' but more than 900 members gathered in Hong Kong for an international conference at the weekend.

On Saturday a mass peaceful protest was held outside the Xinhua office and on Sunday organisers said the conference was a success, making a huge rally on Monday unnecessary, they claimed.

''We feel we have achieved our target in last two days. We had successfully expressed our opinion. In view of this, we decided to cancel the march,'' said Kan Hung-cheung, the sect's Hong Kong spokesman

HONG KONG, Dec 13, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Hong Kong and overseas members Falungong practitioners marched through the streets here again Monday in the face of warnings from mainland officials.

A handful of sect practitioners walked peacefully through central Hong Kong to the Chinese foreign ministry office, watched by police and carrying banners calling for dialogue with Beijing.

Organizers said they hoped to meet ministry officials to ask for the release of practitioners detained in China and talks between US-based sect leader Li Hongzhi and the Chinese government.

The symbolic march marks the end of three days of Falungong meetings and demonstrations which provoked accusations from mainland officials that it is eyeing Hong Kong as a "base" to undermine China.

"What do they mean in getting overseas Falungong followers here?" Chinese Foreign Ministry Commissioner in Hong Kong Ma Yuzhen was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post.

"It is because Hong Kong is part of China and Hong Kong is so close to the mainland. They can't deny it."

The movement, which advocates high moral values and physical well-being, was banned as an "evil cult" in China in July and about 35,000 practitioners have been detained or arrested.

It is tolerated in Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" concept which guarantees Hong Kong's autonomy after its handover to China from Britain two years ago.

But Hong Kong and mainland officials have repeatedly warned practitioners attending an annual conference here, including some from Europe, the United States, Japan and Australia, to abide by local laws.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa on Saturday said local authorities had "taken note" of the group's activities.

"There have been reports that the Falungong have led to loss of life and social disorders in the mainland," he said in a statement.

Conference goers and demonstrators "must comply strictly with Hong Kong laws and ... must not act in any manner which are against the interest of China, Hong Kong or 'one country, two systems'," he said.

But co-organizer Belinda Pang said she could understand why officials were so nervous.

"Our overseas practitioners want to express themselves and that's why we're here (at the foreign ministry office)," she told AFP as she walked under a banner reading "Please release Chinese Falungong practitioners".

"Whatever we do we are abiding by the law so there's no need to warn us."

HONG KONG, Dec 13, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Four members of the outlawed Falungong spiritual sect have been arrested for revealing information concerning the case of a group member beaten to death in police custody, a Hong Kong-based rights group said Monday.

Liu Jinling, Li Yanling, Chi Yunling and Chen Shihuan were charged last week by the public security bureau of Zhaoyuan city, eastern Shandong Province for "supplying intelligence to foreigners," the Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.

The four could face up to 10 years imprisonment, the center said.

The "intelligence" referred to the death in police custody of Falungong practioner Zhao Jinhua, who was confirmed dead by the Zhangxingzhen precint in Zhaoyuan city on October 7, the center said.

Falungong practioners in the city have maintained that Zhao was beaten to death and that marks seen on Zhao's body were proof of the beating.

Police ensured Zhao's body was cremated on October 9, before the family could take pictures of the body, the center said.

Beatings in Chinese prisons are routine as a method of extracting confessions from alleged criminals.

Nine people were detained in connection with the case in early November, but only four people formally charged, with police travelling to the southern city of Shenzhen to arrest Liu Jinling.

"The public security bureau in Zhaoyuan city not only refused to investigate those responsible for the beating, but set up a 20-member investigation team to find out who leaked the information to outside the country," the center said in a faxed statement.

The center said the four could face up to 10-years imprisonment if found guilty and cited 10-year prison terms recently handed out to Zhang Shanguang and He Zhaohui who were charged with the same crime after informing foreigners of labor strikes inside of China.

The center said that at least six Falungong practioners have died in police custody since July 20 when the group was banned nationwide.

Over 35,000 Falungong practioners have been detained by police since the banning, the government has confirmed.

The Falungong, which practices morning group meditation and advocates a clean and healthy life has been branded an illegal cult by the Beijing authorities, who regard the movement as the most serious threat to their rule since the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests.

HONG KONG, Dec 12, 1999 -- (Reuters) Close to 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.

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

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.

The movement is not illegal here and the two-day Hong Kong-Asia Pacific Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference has proceeded without a hitch thus far.

The event brought together followers from around the world, including the United States, Australia, Japan and from as far away as Ireland. 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.

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.

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.

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 Falun Gong follower Alexis Genin from France dismissed those fears.

"I don't think Hong Kong is really a base," Genin, 25, said at the conference. "The meeting is in Hong Kong today, next time it will be in another place."

In Hong Kong's Convention and Exhibition Center, the packed audience listened intently as practitioners read out personal testimonials of how Falun Gong had improved their health, their tempers and their lives. Some listeners wept as they heard of accounts of suppression in China. Children dozed on chairs.

"I was supervised 24 hours a day, for 30 days, non-stop," Beijing's Ye Mingyan, 34, told the audience. Ye now lives in Australia. She said she was asked to go on television to denounce Falun Gong and had threatened to commit suicide.

BEIJING (AP) - Four members of the banned Chinese meditation group Falun Gong were charged with illegally disclosing information about the alleged fatal beating by police of a fellow Falun Gong adherent, a human rights group reported today.

Last week, the authorities formally charged the four with ``illegally providing intelligence overseas'' - a charge that could carry a sentence of more than 10 years, the center said.

Falun Gong members have reported numerous unconfirmed cases of beatings and other maltreatment of group members detained since the government banned the movement in July.

Police in Zhaoyuan denied that Zhao was beaten to death.

``I haven't heard anything about the arrests and beatings of Falun Gong practitioners,'' said a Zhaoyuan police official, who identified herself as Miss Ou.

The State Council, China's cabinet, last month denied Zhao had been mistreated and said she suffered a heart attack on Oct. 7 while under police supervision.

Unknown numbers of people who refuse to give it up have been put under detention across the country. Trials of leaders of the organization in Beijing are expected soon.

HONG KONG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - China has detained four followers of the banned Falun Gong religious group for disclosing details of the death of one their members while in police custody, a Hong Kong based rights group said on Monday.

Liu Jinling, Li Lanying, Chi Yunling and Chen Shihuan were detained in November for ``illegally providing information overseas,'' a crime which could put them behind bars for more than 10 years, said the Information Centre of Human Rights & Democratic Movement in China.

According to the centre, the four were detained for providing details of the circumstances surrounding the death of Zhao Jinhua, 42, who was arrested on September 27.

Zhao's family, who was informed of her sudden death on October 7, saw bruises all over the corpse before it was cremated by police. Police also confiscated pictures which her family took of her body, the centre said.

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 surrounding the central leadership compound in Beijing in April.

Close to 900 practitioners of the movement 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. The movement is not illegal in Hong Kong.

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.

HONG KONG -- In mainland China, their group has been outlawed, their spiritual leader vilified, and 150 of his followers arrested for supposedly subverting Chinese society. But in Hong Kong on Sunday, 900 members of the Falun Gong movement gathered in a convention hall for a tranquil demonstration of its breathing and meditation exercises.

It was the largest public meeting of Falun Gong believers on Chinese soil since China cracked down on the group in July. And it put the local authorities in something of a bind.

Falun Gong is legal in Hong Kong, and the group obtained permission for Sunday's meeting. But China has banned the group and detained many of its members, saying it is cultlike and has a political agenda.

China's senior representative here said in a radio interview that he believed the group was using Hong Kong as a base to expand its activities within China. The official, Ma Yuzhen, noted that the meeting attracted followers from around the world to this semiautonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, issued a stern warning, saying Falun Gong members "must not act in any manner that is against the interest of China, Hong Kong, or 'one country, two systems."' That phrase refers to the arrangement under which this former British colony retained its own laws and control of its domestic affairs after reverting to Chinese rule in 1997.

Despite the strong words, the Hong Kong authorities left the group alone during the past weekend. There was a heavy police presence around the convention center, but the police did not interfere with the meeting. On Saturday, more than 600 followers marched and meditated in front of the offices of the Chinese state news agency, the mainland's unofficial outpost here, also without interference.

Falun Gong representatives, who held a crowded news conference after Sunday's meeting, dismissed suggestions that Hong Kong was a staging ground for China.

"We did not pull together to overthrow anyone," said Zenon Dolnyckyj, 21, an intense Canadian who wept earlier in the day as he recounted his own healing experiences with Falun Gong. "There is absolutely no political motivation to Falun Gong. The only motivation is truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance."

Falun Gong, which combines traditional Chinese breathing and meditation exercises with an idiosyncratic blend of Buddhism and Taoism, has been a political hot button in China since April, when 10,000 followers silently assembled in front of the communist leaders' compound in Beijing in a demonstration to seek government recognition.

In late July, the government banned the group and issued an arrest warrant for its founder, Li Hongzhi, who lives in New York.

China has mounted a relentless propaganda campaign against Li, a 48-year-old former grain-bureau clerk, describing him as a charlatan whose teachings lead to mental illness and suicide.

The government has rounded up more than 35,000 followers of Falun Gong, who still turn out sporadically to practice their exercises in Tiananmen Square. Most of those are sent either home or to re-education camps. Officials said they had formally arrested 150 people, who will face prosecution under new anti-cult laws.

The Chinese government says Falun Gong is a vast and well-organized cult that poses a "massive threat" to Chinese society. Although the group uses the Internet to publicize meetings and mobilize its followers to rally against the crackdown by China, its representatives insist that Falun Gong is not a formal organization and has no bank account, membership rolls or leadership committee.

Dolnyckyj said individual followers had rented the hall on behalf of the group. The managing director of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Cliff Wallace, confirmed that the rent of nearly $13,000 was paid with personal checks.

Wallace said the Hong Kong government did not question his decision to rent the hall to the group. He said he requested extra security because he worried that outside elements might seek to capitalize on a large gathering of people and the intense news-media attention.

The members, most of them Chinese but some from as far away as the United States, Australia and Ireland, contended that Sunday's gathering was neither a political rally nor a revival meeting. Sitting stoically for hours on folding chairs, the audience of mostly middle-aged people listened to testimonials from adherents, who said that practicing Falun Gong had improved their mental and physical health.

"We want the Chinese government to know we are good people," said Liu Feng, a 21-year-old graduate student from the northern Chinese city of Dalian, who is studying in Ireland. "The government has fabricated all these lies about Falun Gong. They should not treat us that way."

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