12/20/0 0:26 (New York)

MACAU (AP) - Chinese President Jiang Zemin Wednesday marked the anniversary of Macau's return to China by urging the gambling enclave to prevent protests "against the central government," as authorities continued to keep away adherents of the Falun Gong meditation [group].

About 15 practitioners of the [group], which is outlawed in mainland China but legal in Macau, were herded into police vans early Wednesday and forced to show their identification papers before being allowed to resume their meditation exercises in a park.

Another group of Falun Gong adherents set out for Macau on a ferry from Hong Kong and were sent back by immigration authorities - only to try again on the next ferry, according to Falun Gong spokesman Kam Hung-cheung in Hong Kong.

In a day of handover anniversary ceremonies, Jiang stood at attention in an audience with Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho and Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, facing big Chinese and Macau flags as a band played China's national anthem.

Without directly referring to Falun Gong, which has been subjected to an intense crackdown in mainland China, Jiang praised Macau's stepped-up security - a priority of Ho's government....

Jiang said the Macau government "should take concrete measures to defend the national interests and the authority of the central government and should never allow anyone to stage any activities in Macau against the central government or to split the country."

Critics say the crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners who hoped to petition Jiang in Macau was eerily similar to repression in mainland China.

Like neighboring Hong Kong, Macau is guaranteed 50 years of considerable autonomy and freedom for its citizens, but there are worries Macau's freedoms are already under threat. (END)

Dow Jones Newswires 20-12-00 0526GMT(AP-DJ-12-20-00 0526GMT)