Chinese police make wave of arrests in Tiananmen Square

Chinese police make wave of arrests in Tiananmen Square
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

BEIJING, MAY 11: Chinese police detained dozens of people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square early Thursday as the Falungong spiritual movement marked the birthday of their exiled founder Li Hongzhi.

An AFP reporter saw at least 30 people being detained in the vast square in Front of the ancient Forbidden City in the space of an hour as police roamed the central esplanade questioning tourists and siteseers.

Falungong practitioners, who have flocked to the square in their thousands to protest the banning of the movement since it was outlawed in July, tend to admit they are group members when asked. One man tried to make a Buddhist peace sign as he was dragged into a waiting police van, and police officers tried to force his hands down to his sides.

Others were led away in knots of two or three at regular intervals, with police occasionally kicking and shoving them into vehicles. Falungong practitioners in Hong Kong have pledged to hold a grand parade through the centre of the city on Thursday to celebrate the birthday of the movement's founder, which coincides with the birthday of Buddha.

Falungong claims tens of millions of followers in China, attracted by Li's eclectic teachings in traditional qigong Chinese breathing exercises and Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. The Communist government in Beijing launched a nationwide crackdown on the movement after it caught the authorities off guard by assembling 10,000 followers around the Communist Party's headquarters in April last year in a silent protest over the imminent banning of the movement.

The government banned Falungong in July after labelling the movement an "evil cult", and since then tens of thousands of followers have been detained and sent for "re-education" while core leaders have been jailed for up to 18 years. The movement is seen by the Communist Party as the biggest threat to its grip on power since the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests. China's official press has repeatedly vilified the group this week, on the one hand claiming victory over the movement while at the same time warning that it still posed a threat to Chinese society.

In a commentary entitled "Never Underestimate," the official Xinhua news agency carried an editorial on Wednesday saying that Falungong was still dangerous. "Falungong has not diminished despite months of a nationwide campaign against the cult. The fight against the Falungong cult is a long-term, complicated, and arduous one," the commentary said. But a second Xinhua commentary on Wednesday was triumphant. "The victory has greatly raised the political vigilance of the nation, saved and protected a large number of the cheated, punished the evil and maintained the social stability of the country," it said.

The Chinese government has been strongly criticised by Western governments and human rights groups for the draconian measures it has taken against the movement. The Falungong movement in New York said the organisation, which claims was planning events in 120 cities in 30 countries to mark World Falun Dafa Day on Saturday.