Saturday, July 22, 2000

A plainclothes police officer, second from left, takes
pictures of Falun Gong protesters for identification
as they enter a police van in Tiananmen Square in
Beijing on Saturday, July 22, 2000. (AP Photo/Chien-min Chung)

A Chinese policeman arrests a Falun Gong follower
after taking away his banner on the Tiananmen Square
July 22 (PHOTO: By Andrew Wong REUTERS).

BEIJING (AP) -- Falun Gong followers marked the first anniversary of China's ban on the group Saturday, unfurling banners and meditating in scattershot protests that were snuffed out within seconds by legions of police.

Beijing's sprawling Tiananmen Square has been a popular venue for the protests, which usually involve individuals or small groups. But on Saturday morning, about 25 protesters managed to raise a banner and block police from immediately seizing it.

Police -- some in green uniforms, others in T-shirts and shorts -- grabbed the banner and later dragged one man away from the scene by his ankles.

About 100 people were rounded up Saturday morning, and more were expected to be picked up as the daily displays of civil disobedience continued in the afternoon.

Police were stopping and questioning some suspected members, including two middle-aged women who were hustled away by officers although they apparently were not involved in protests.

On the northwest corner of the square, a pair of women held up a yellow banner with one of the sect's names, "Falun Dafa," in red Chinese characters.

The banner was up for about 20 seconds -- an eternity compared to most protests -- before police swooped in and grabbed the women by their arms and confiscated the banner.

One middle-aged woman walking by with her family spotted the banner and yelled "Arrest them."

Since the government banned the sect one year ago, police have been detaining members and state-run media have been denouncing the group in a fierce smear campaign.

Several newspapers on Saturday ran a commentary by the official Xinhua News Agency that said Falun Gong is a "poisonous torrent" that is "anti-humanity" and "anarchistic."

Xinhua said the group's exiled leader, Li Hongzhi, has encouraged followers to break the law and demonstrate, resulting in a recent increase in illegal gatherings at Tiananmen Square.

Falun Gong followers have traveled from around China to Beijing this month to carry on their civil disobedience campaign. In recent weeks, police have detained about 200 followers daily in Tiananmen Square, according to a Communist Party official.

Founded eight years ago, Falun Gong attracted millions of followers, drawn by its blend of slow-motion exercises and ideas drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and its founder, an ex-government grain clerk. Followers say practice promotes health, moral living and, in experts, supernatural powers.

The government has called Falun Gong an unprecedented threat to communist rule. It has accused Falun Gong of cheating followers and causing 1,500 deaths, mostly of followers who it said refused medical treatment according to what it claims are the group's teachings.

Police have become efficient in cracking down on protests in Tiananmen Square. Equipped with binoculars and walkie-talkies, they quickly can spot Falun Gong members who protest by sitting in the lotus position. Within minutes, the protesters are apprehended and hauled into police vans and driven away.

Blistering hot weather Saturday made the job difficult for the police because their views were obstructed by hundreds of visitors carrying umbrellas, which Chinese use to block the sun.

After plainclothes police grabbed one man sitting cross-legged, they took a camera away from a foreign tourist who was taking pictures in the area. They took the film out of the camera and exposed it to daylight, ruining the photos. The police walked away, ignoring the tourist's protests.