The Power of Falun Gong

Anyone is free to demonstrate at the Lafayette Park—separated from the White House by the Pennsylvania Avenue. There were many doing precisely that during the reception for Hu.

But there is no precedent to a protest inside the White House compound. Thursday’s incident underlined the organisational sophistication of the Falun Gong. Security is so tight at White House receptions that protocol lapses are rare. But the Chinese protester found the weak link—the media. While the media personnel are intensely searched at the White House before being let in, no one really expects the journalists to become activists at such events.

The choice of timing and venue reminds one of the extraordinary mobilisation by the movement a few years ago in Beijing. In July 1999 and May 2000, the Falun Gong organised a breathtaking defiance of the Chinese authorities at the most intensely guarded spot in Beijing—the Tiananmen Square.

If they could converge in large numbers in Tiananmen Square and unfurl banners, the White House protest was small change for Falun Gong.

Established by Li Hongzhi, the group claims to have 100 million followers around the world, including 70 million in China. Official estimates in Beijing put the following at more modest 2 million in China.

Tibetans suspend protests

While Falun Gong has generated bad news from Hu’s US visit, Beijing has won a respite from the Tibetan protests that traditionally dogged Chinese leaders around the world.

Amid the ongoing talks between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, the Tibetan leadership had formally asked for a restraint on protests during Hu’s visit to the US.

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