Washington, March 9 (Bloomberg) -- A rare assembly of China's top 2,000 Communist Party officials last month to show unity against the Falun Gong underscored the consternation among leaders about limiting growth of the spiritual movement, analysts said.

President Jiang Zemin called the meeting, the first large- scale work conference since 1988, to urge continued vigilance against the Falun Gong, while affirming the 1989 crackdown on pro- democracy dissidents in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the New York Times reported. The paper cited two unnamed officials who attended briefings on the meeting for its account.

``My sense is it reflects an insecurity within the top leadership, that they feel very threatened by the Falun Gong ...'' said Merle Goldman, an author and professor of Chinese history at Boston University. ``The problem for them with the Falun Gong is it's everywhere, and they don't seem to be able to bring it under control.''

The Chinese authorities banned Falun Gong in July 1999, calling it [Chinese government's slanderous words]. The government became alarmed in April 1999 when 10,000 followers gathered in Tiananmen Square.

As of last month, some 20,000 Falun Gong members have been temporarily detained, 10,000 placed in labor camps and 600 sent to mental hospitals, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.

`Source of Tension'

As many as 120 people have died in jail or at the hands of security forces during the government's 19-month campaign against the group, the Washington Post reported.

Six people accused of giving out leaflets promoting the Falun Gong were arrested in the northeastern city of Shenyang, Associated Press reported, citing the state-owned China News Service. Police closed in on the group after its handbills appeared on power poles around the city, AP said.

``There is a lot of evidence to suggest the crackdown has been a real source of tension in the leadership,'' said Ken Lieberthal, a former deputy to Clinton administration national security adviser Sandy Berger. ``Some think the approach is counter-productive.''

Falun Gong members, who follow a combination of ... practice meditation and exercise, have continued to defy China's ban on the organization. ...