February 18, 2002

BEIJING (AP)--China has expelled a Japanese man who took part in a protest last week in Beijing by foreign followers of the Falun Gong spiritual group, a Japanese diplomat said Monday.

The man, a 30-year-old Tokyo resident, was expelled Sunday, said the official at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, didn't have the man's name.

Police reported they detained 59 foreigners during the protest Thursday on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.

It was the biggest protest to date on the square by foreign followers of Falun Gong, which China banned in 1999 [...].

Most protesters were American or European. Friends in Tokyo had identified the lone Japanese protester as Takehiko Kanai.

The Japanese man was among six foreigners held by Chinese police after expulsion of 53 protesters on Friday, according to the Japanese diplomat. It said he either didn't have a passport or refused to identify himself.

The protest was intended to draw attention to China's often brutal two-and-a-half year crackdown on the Falun Gong.

It came a week before U.S. President George W. Bush is to arrive in Beijing for talks that are expected to touch on human rights among other issues.