Police detain a Falun Gong protester in Tiananmen Square as a crowd watches in Beijing on Sunday
October 1, 2000
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Police beat and detained dozens of members of the outlawed Falun Gong [group] on Sunday as they staged protests on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in conjunction with annual National Day observances.
Chinese authorities, on hand to ward off such demonstrations, detained at least 300 protesters in one hour alone. In all, up to 1,000 people were thought to have been taken into custody, said Correspondent Lisa Weaver. Ten hours after the clashes began, police continued to make sporadic arrests, but things were pretty much back to normal, Weaver said.
At the height of the protests, uniformed and plainclothes officers kicked and pummeled [Falun Gong] members, but as soon as one group was subdued, another would begin protesting, passing out leaflets, chanting slogans and raising banners.
Several large city buses were brought in to carry protesters away. Other demonstrators were stuffed into police minivans that were packed so tightly the doors would not close.
Journalists and others photographing the events had their equipment confiscated including CNN cameraman Wen-Chun Fan, who had several videotapes seized by police. Throngs of civilians were present during the skirmishes, and some onlookers were knocked down as police chased Falun Gong members.
"Falun Gong is not a crime!" one protester shouted while running from authorities.
It was the one of the largest acts of civil disobedience staged by the group since a government ban in July 1999. The protests forced police to shut down about half of the giant square, scene of historic pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989.
Group warned of protest
Falun Gong members, who demand recognition from the government, planned the protest to coincide with the 51st anniversary marking communist rule in China. As demonstrations broke out, tens of thousands of civilians and tourists milled about the square, admiring patriotic floral displays.
Last week, Falun Gong representatives sent e-mails to media outlets announcing their plans for Sunday. Police responded by closing the square early Sunday morning, although they allowed some people in to attend a sunrise flag-raising ceremony to mark the day.
The [group] said security forces stopped members at train stations across the country as they tried to make their way to Beijing, the capital.
The government banned the [group] last year after declaring it evil.
Falun Gong members say they have no political aspirations. Based on a Buddhist/Taoist doctrine, the [group] subscribes to a set of five physical exercises. Its leader, Li Hong Zhi, has been exiled from China and was last thought to be living in the United States.
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Beijing says it has jailed about 150 organizers of the spiritual group,
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This month exiled poet Huang Beiling called on China's intellectuals to follow the example of the Falun Gong by fighting government oppression with civil disobedience.
