Wednesday, February12, 2003

AUGUSTA (AP) -- A resolution condemning China's crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement is up for a vote in the Maine Legislature Tuesday.

The non-binding proposal says China's "brutal crackdown" on practitioners of the movement violates basic human rights.

The resolution expresses the Legislature's support for the movement, also known as Falun Dafa, and its followers. Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese system of meditation and exercise that claims millions of followers in dozens of countries.

Supporters of the resolution held a news conference in Augusta Tuesday.

Republican Senator Ken Lemont of Kittery says human rights organizations report that 24 Falun Gong followers have died while in police custody [since November last year]. Lemont says he hopes that in a small way, Maine's Falun Gong resolution helps.

http://www.wmtw.com/Global/story.asp?S=1124926&nav=7k6rDv1s