EL PAIS (Spain's most important newspaper): One Spaniard Among 35 Western Falun Gong Practitioners Detained in Tiananmen

(Clearwisdom.net)

(Translation)

21st November 2001

(Madrid)

Yesterday in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese police detained 35 followers of the spiritual movement, Falun Gong, all of whom are Westerners, when they demonstrated against the persecution of their fellow practitioners. The practitioners, mostly young people, acted at the beginning like tourists taking photos of the Square. But around 2:00 p.m., local time, the group sat down in the lotus position while unfurling a banner with the words, "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance". In less than 10 minutes they were detained by the police.

Falun Gong practitioner Li Wei stated that among the detainees is a Spanish citizen living in Switzerland: Victor Manuel Fernßndez Sßnchez, 28 years old. The detainees came from Germany, Australia, Canada, United States, Spain, France, Ireland, Israel, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland. Li declared that they were being held yesterday in prison, and that Chinese authorities plan to expel them from the country. The Chinese government prohibited Falun Gong in 1999, as they consider it as a "[Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]". Thousands of followers of this movement are being imprisoned in China.