04/14/2003

HONG KONG (AP) --[Practitioners] of the Falun Gong meditation [group] rallied Monday in support of a lawsuit brought in the United States against China's former President Jiang Zemin, whose government sought to eradicate the group in the mainland.

Falun Gong followers worldwide were turning out to support the suit filed last October in federal court in Chicago by practitioners, mostly from the United States, who accuse Jiang of genocide and other crimes, said Kan Hung-cheung, a local Falun Gong spokesman.

Kan said the court has asked for more information before deciding whether the suit against Jiang can proceed.

Holding a white banner that said, "Sue Jiang Zemin for genocide", about 100 Falun Gong [practitioners] sat quietly in a downtown park Monday, performing slow-moving meditation exercises to recorded Chinese music.

Falun Gong was outlawed [...] in mainland China but it remains free to practice in Hong Kong and has carried out frequent protests here against suppression in the mainland.

Falun Gong says at least 654 people have been tortured to death in China. [...].