November 20, 2001

The Germany embassy in Beijing said it had received reports some German followers of the banned Falun Gong group had been detained after a demonstration on Tiananmen Square.

Embassy spokesman Tilo Klinner said the embassy received several phone calls from German citizens Tuesday who said other German nationals were being detained.

"We are trying to confirm it ourselves," Klinner said, adding that embassy officials were awaiting confirmation from police.

Embassy officials had tried to call the nationals back on their mobile phone numbers to find out more information but did not get an answer, Klinner said.

He said a German reporter also told the embassy he saw about 35 people being detained, including Germans.

"We've asked the Ministry of Public Security to clarify the case, but we haven't gotten an answer to that," Klinner said.

Protests by the Falun Gong group, banned for more than two years in China, were for a period frequent in Tiananmen Square, central Beijing.

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