Wednesday, December 10, 2003
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Falun Gong followers practise their meditation exercises in a Hong Kong park on Wednesday, at a demonstration to mark International Human Rights Day. Falun Gong claims it is persecuted in the mainland and wants Beijing to end its crackdown. The banner reads "Punish [former Chinese President] Jiang Zemin severely."
About 100 Falun Gong followers demanded an end to what they said was persecution by Beijing as they marked International Human Rights Day on Wednesday with a peaceful rally.
China's rapid economic growth has taken attention away from the torture, killings and unfair imprisonment of Falun Gong adherents, said Sophie Xiao, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the meditation group Beijing has outlawed [and persecuted brutally.]
"Atrocities are still going on behind those high-rises and new buildings in China," Ms. Xiao said by telephone from a downtown park where Falun Gong staged its demonstration by practicing slow-motion exercises.
Falun Gong claims some 800 followers have died in Chinese police custody and many thousands more have been detained. [...]
Falun Gong remains legal in Hong Kong and frequently protests here against the crackdown that began under the regime of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
[...]
http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZSIUDWXND.html