Crackdown on Falun Gong Draws Anger As Example of Religious Repression

February 15, 2002

BEIJING--China arrested about 40 foreigners Thursday in Tiananmen Square for protesting the government's crackdown against the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Police chased and tackled the demonstrators after they chanted slogans and unfurled Falun Gong banners. They are one of several groups around the world attempting to raise awareness of China's record of religious repression as a scheduled visit to Beijing by President Bush next Thursday approaches.

The 40 foreign demonstrators from several countries including England and Germany were the second foreign group to protest at Tiananmen Square this week and the fourth since November.

"Members of various countries decided to go there to expose the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China," said Gail Rachlin, a spokeswoman for Falun Gong.

"There are innocent people being tortured and persecuted," she said. "We want President Bush to bring up this issue in his meeting with President Jiang Zemin."

New York-based Falun Gong activists said that between 50 and 100 members from Western countries had planned to demonstrate in Tiananmen Square. The group said an additional 14 Western followers were detained by Chinese police in their hotels before the protest.

Witnesses at the square said that hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes police pursued and tackled the demonstrators, kicking and punching some of them in the face before wrestling them into vans. The protests forced police to briefly clear the square.

"The trouble caused by these Falun Gong members was intended to prevent the Chinese people from celebrating" police said, referring the Chinese lunar New Year.

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