Associated Press Writer

DETROIT -- Court Pearman arrived here Friday shoeless, dirty and bruised.

The 24-year-old from Orlando, Fla., said the Chinese government kidnapped him and several other Westerners during a planned demonstration Thursday in support of Falun Gong. Pearman -- who had a large scratch on his lower back -- said he was tackled and beaten repeatedly by Chinese authorities.

Every button was missing from his stained white shirt.

About 25 Falun Gong followers landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport around midday Friday, after a 12-hour flight and time spent in Chinese jails.

Late Thursday, the demonstrators were put on a plane back to the U.S. -- many without luggage, money, passports or tickets for connecting flights.

"(The Chinese authorities) literally kicked us onto the plane," said Keith Ware, of Washington, D.C. "It scared the other passengers. It was unnecessary."

Ware said about 90 Falun Gong followers from the U.S. and 10 other countries planned the trip to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, scheduling a demonstration for Thursday afternoon.

Instead, they say the Chinese police -- who demonstrators believe were tipped off to the gathering -- beat and detained several Falun Gong followers.

In the past, other demonstrations took authorities by surprise, the demonstrators said. In November, 35 Western members of Falun Gong were expelled after a mass protest on the square.

"We went to let the Chinese people know ... that Falun Gong is practiced openly in many countries," Ware said. "The Chinese government tells their citizens that it's persecuted around the world."

Falun Gong drew tens of millions of followers in the mid-1990s. [...]

On Thursday, the government set up checkpoints around Tiananmen Square and foreigners were forced to show identification and open their bags for inspection. Also, foreign reporters were turned away or held near the square, preventing them from seeing clearly what happened.

"I was trying to say 'Falun Gong is good,' but they kept hitting me over and over again," said Mark Gardner, of Orange County, Calif.

Gardner, 24, had a black eye that he said came from being beaten repeatedly by police Thursday. Gardner and the other demonstrators were met in Detroit with flowers, cheers and applause by about 20 area Falun Gong followers.

Tim Sun, 31, of Troy, Mich., said he took a day off from work to greet the demonstrators. Like many of the local followers at the airport, he didn't know anyone on the plane.

"They have such courage to appear in a vicious government," said Sun, who is originally from China. "What the Chinese government has done to (Falun Gong followers) is terrorism."

Falun Gong supporters said thousands of members have been detained, and activists abroad say 358 have been killed since 1999. Chinese authorities deny abusing anyone but say some members died in hunger strikes or after refusing medical treatment.

This most recent demonstration comes one week before a visit by President Bush to Beijing. Possibly to avert a diplomatic backlash, Chinese authorities took the unusual step of issuing a statement saying they had treated the detainees humanely.

The detainees said the Chinese officials insisted they weren't prisoners but guests. They were offered food and water, but were not allowed to call the U.S. Embassy. Cellphones, cameras, pagers and other personal items were confiscated, they said.

"We were hostages," Ware said.