HONG KONG -- A coalition of Christian organizations in Hong Kong defended the rights of the Falun Dafa spiritual group to practice its activities in the city.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is legal in Hong Kong, but the movement has come under pressure recently as the Beijing government has called on city authorities to ban it. It marks the first time Beijing has applied public pressure on the Hong Kong government to fall into line with the central government's policies.

The stand by the Christian groups is also the first time the Catholic Church has spoken out on Falun Dafa, which teaches meditation [...]. Falun Dafa has been persecuted in China as an "[Chinese government's slanderous word]," and its presence in Hong Kong is seen as a key test of the city's autonomy.

Five of the groups speaking out in Hong Kong Thursday were Catholic organizations, and the public stance was approved by diocese authorities and local Bishop Joseph Zen. Mary Yuen, executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, said, "Although we do not agree with their practice, what they have done so far is nothing that can be regarded as an XX."

Ms. Yuen said the Catholic Church wants to speak out because, otherwise, "if one day the Catholic Church is persecuted, then no one will support us." The groups called on Hong Kong and its government to view Falun Dafa practitioners with tolerance and allow them to peacefully criticize the treatment given to fellow practitioners in the rest of China.

Speaking later Thursday at the city's Legislative Council, Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee Hwa, made his first extended remarks on Falun Dafa but gave no hints on whether he would succumb to the pressure from Beijing to ban the movement.

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Critics of Falun Dafa in Hong Kong who are close to Beijing have been saying that laws to control sedition and subversion should be enacted in Hong Kong to prevent the movement from using the city as a base for criticizing Beijing's behavior toward Falun Dafa in the rest of China. But Thursday, Mr. Tung said the movement's activities in Hong Kong won't cause him to hurriedly turn to such controversial laws.

He specified no action against Falun Dafa, repeating comments made last week by his senior officials that the group's activities in Hong Kong would be "closely monitored." However, Mr. Tung did say that Falun Dafa isn't a "mainstream religion," and needs to be watched on the grounds of maintaining public order.

Hui Yee-han, a Falun Dafa spokeswoman in Hong Kong, told the Associated Press, "I'm afraid Mr. Tung's comments on Falun Gong will incite hatred against us. All of our activities are carried out peacefully in Hong Kong, so it's totally irrelevant to say we're affecting public order," Ms. Hui said.