February 20, 2002

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, casting a shadow over a visit to China by President Bush, said it complained to Beijing on Wednesday about alleged rough treatment of Americans expelled from China last week for protesting in support of Falun Gong spiritualists.

"We have submitted a formal protest to Chinese officials regarding our concerns about prompt consular access and allegations of mistreatment of U.S. citizens by Chinese police," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing a day ahead of Bush's arrival in Beijing.

He said some of the 37 expelled Americans had told of their experience at a meeting with State Department officials on Tuesday. Only one of them had access to a U.S. consular officer during their brief detention, a U.S. official said.

Boucher said the U.S. Embassy had made the protest on Wednesday in the Chinese capital, where preparations were under way for the arrival of Bush, 30 years to the day after a landmark visit by former President Richard Nixon.

Asked if the deportees displayed signs of maltreatment, he said, "I don't know that it's for us to try to report on their exact physical condition. As you know, they have publicly alleged mistreatment, and we protested to the Chinese."

Another U.S. official said Tuesday that the Americans were arrested between Feb. 11 and Feb. 14, part of a group of 53 Western members of the Falun Gong movement...

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