http://news.excite.com/news/r/000513/09/religion-china UPDATE 1-China detains dozens of Falun Gong protesters Updated 9:33 AM ET May 13, 2000 BEIJING, May 13 (Reuters) - Chinese police on Saturday detained dozens of Falun Gong adherents in Tiananmen Square, among them an elderly woman dragged on the ground and a man of Western appearance hauled into a police van, eyewitnesses said. Foreign and Chinese tourists watched as police grabbed three women and pushed them into a van when members of the spiritual movement tried to unfurl banners during a peaceful protest in the vast plaza in the heart of Beijing. Eyewitnesses described seeing at least 50 other people detained in isolated protests around the square. It was the second time this week police have moved against adherents of the banned Falun Gong, which Beijing calls an"evil cult." Scores were detained on Thursday as they staged protests to mark the birthday of the movement's founder. Plainclothes policemen with walkie-talkies videotaped detentions and the surrounding crowds on Saturday. Several protesters, including an elderly woman, were thrown to the ground and dragged into police vans, one eyewitness said. A tall European man was roughed up when he apparently resisted handing his camera to police, and at least one other Westerner was forcibly carried to a police van, the witness said. The spectacle of police moving against demonstrators who seek official acceptance of Falun Gong has become a daily occurrence in Beijing since the group was declared illegal last July. PROTESTS MARK "FALUN DAFA DAY" But the number of protests was higher than usual on Saturday-- a day many adherents have designated "World Falun Dafa Day" to celebrate the movement, which combines meditation with a doctrine rooted loosely in Buddhist and Daoist teachings. Falun Dafa, which means the Great Law of the Dharma Wheel, is another name for the group. In Hong Kong, more than 20 men, women and children from the Falun Gong meditation group went through their slow-paced exercises and then sat quietly meditating in a central square. Falun Gong followers in Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, have called for the unbanning of the movement in mainland China and the release of the detainees. Thursday's protests in Tiananmen Square marked the 48th birthday of Li Hongzhi, a Chinese former granary clerk who founded the movement and now lives in exile in New York. State media published a lengthy commentary this week declaring a "decisive victory" over the movement, which initially shocked the atheist Communist party with a 10,000-member protest in Beijing on April 25, 1999. The government, which claims the group had two million members at its peak, says membership has dwindled to roughly 40,000. Beijing says Falun Gong is anti-science and cheats its followers, blaming it for 1,500 deaths by suicide or refusal to accept medical care. Falun Gong says it has tens of millions of followers in China and 40 other countries. At least 15 adherents have died in police custody from beatings or after hunger strikes, according to human rights groups. China has acknowledged several deaths, but says they were caused by suicide or natural causes. -- Kathleen Government control of private-sector industry used to be called fascism. Today it is called the Clinton administration." --Geoff Metcalf <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
