Thursday, February 14, 2002

BEIJING, Feb. 14 - Foreign followers of the Falun Gong spiritual [group] staged their largest protest in China today when more than 40 devotees from at least 10 countries unfurled banners in a Tiananmen Square packed with thousands of Chinese holiday makers.

Shouting "Falun Gong is good!," the foreign protesters vowed to fight against the tough 2-year-old [persecution] on their [group] in China. Dozens of Chinese security personnel surrounded them, confiscated yellow banners and bundled them into nearby vehicles. Seven foreign reporters, who had been called to the square by Falun Gong representatives, were also taken to a police station and questioned before being released.

Police in separate raids on hotels in Beijing also rounded up 14 other foreign Falun Gong activists before they could make it to the square.

A Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong said that at least nine Germans, six Canadians, five Britons, two Finns and representatives from Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and France had come to Beijing to protest. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy said it had already requested any information on potential American detainees from Chinese authorities.

[...]

The demonstration today was the fourth and largest protest to date on Tiananmen Square by foreign followers of the group. In November, 35 Westerners were expelled from China after a protest.

[...]

On Monday, an American and a Canadian were detained. Levi Browde, a 29-year-old software expert from New York City, was expelled from China two days later. He told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he had come to China to "let people know about the persecution" of religion in China.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9341-2002Feb14.html