07/12/2001

BEIJING (AP) - The Falun Gong said at least 10 of its followers were beaten to death at a labor camp in northeastern China - the same province where other members of the spiritual group died in a labor camp under disputed circumstances earlier this month.

[...]

Falun Gong said in a statement issued in New York that its members were killed at a labor camp in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The statement did not say when the deaths were supposed to have taken place or give names or other information about the victims, who were all men.

[...]During its two-year crackdown on Falun Gong, the government has sent thousands of followers to labor camps, where officials say they are given counseling to persuade them to leave the group.

Falun Gong and rights groups say followers are denied sleep, sexually abused, beaten, shocked with electric batons and exposed to extreme cold by guards under pressure to make them renounce the group.

[...]

Falun Gong drew millions of members during the 1990s with its [...] meditation and light exercise.

Worried that the group's size and organizational strength could challenge [party' name omitted] rule, China banned it [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous terms omitted].

Falun Gong denies urging followers to harm themselves and claims it promotes health and morality. The group says 250 followers have been killed by authorities during the crackdown. Independent monitors put the figure at about 150.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001/07/12/falun-gong.htm