AP AND REUTERS, TAIPEI

Over 1,000 Falun Gong members from several Asian countries held a rally last night at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in commemoration of members who have been killed or persecuted in China. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

About 3,000 followers of the Falun Gong spiritual group, including several who had previously been detained in China, rallied Saturday to condemn Beijing's crackdown of the meditation sect, with Vice President Annette Lu also lending her support.

"I wish you success in your character cultivation and martial art practice," Lu told the adherents who held fluorescent glow sticks to mourn those fellow members who were either killed in Chinese custody or still languishing in prison.

There was no immediate comment from Beijing, which branded Falun Gong [] and banned it in 1999 for challenging the Communist Party's monopoly on power.

Falun Gong -- a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, meditation and breathing exercises designed to harness energy in the body and heal -- claims 100 million members worldwide. China puts its domestic membership at two million.

Human rights groups say dozens of Falun Gong adherents have died in custody after torture by Chinese police. About 50 have been sent to mental institutions.

"The Chinese Communist regime is scared of us because of our huge numbers," Liao Chung-shu, a 47-year-old retired Taiwan soldier, said.

Political analysts said Taiwan risked further souring bilateral relations by letting Falun Gong stage the rally in Taipei, and allowing Chinese followers living overseas to visit. Taiwan restricts visits from China's nationals.

Organizers had hoped that sect founder Li Hongzhi could visit from the US to preside over a two-day conference. But they later withdrew an invitation because government authorities were lukewarm to the plan.

''Mr Li was very concerned and had hoped to come,'' said Chang Ching-hsi, an economist and chairman of the Taiwan Falun Gong Research Organization.

In recent months, Taiwan has made considerable efforts to improve relations with China through closer trade and investment. But officials apparently fear Li's visit could worsen still frosty ties with Beijing.

Participants at the conference included more than 600 followers from the Chinese territories of Macau and Hong Kong and 16 other countries.

Zhang Cuiying, a Chinese-Australian jewelry designer, said she had been detained three times in China for practicing Falun Gong and was tortured by security guards.

''I told them I would continue practicing even if they beat me to death, even if [Chinese President] Jiang Zemin comes,'' she said.

Falun Gong attracted millions of members in the 1990s with its health regimen and eclectic philosophy mixing Taoism, Buddhism and the ideas of its founder Li, a former government clerk.

Human rights groups say at least 70 Falun Gong followers have died in detention since China banned the [group] in July 1999.

Song Yan, 26, said she was arrested twice this year in China, but detention center wardens treated her nicely ''because they knew we are nice people.''

''I want them to stop sabotaging our schools and smearing us,'' said Song, who comes from China but lives in Taiwan with her Taiwanese husband.

Jiang Zemin issued a steely warning against dissent last week in Macau as police dragged off more than a dozen protesting Falun Gong practitioners."

http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2000/12/24/story/0000066875