HONG KONG, Feb. 3 -- As the Chinese government's war against the Falun Gong spiritual movement grows ever more thunderous, its echoes are sounding in Hong Kong, the group's only refuge in China.

On Thursday, Hong Kong's top security official said the police would more closely monitor Falun Gong's activities in this former British colony. [...]

[...]

Falun Gong was outlawed in China in 1999, but it remains legal in Hong Kong, which has kept its own laws since reverting to Chinese rule in 1997. Though the movement claims only 400 local members, it holds an annual conference here, which draws thousands of practitioners from Boston to Beijing. The most recent gathering took place three weeks ago and was less a meeting than a well-choreographed protest against Beijing's persecution of Falun Gong.

As a battery of television cameras whirred, 120 women -- one for each Falun Gong member the group says was killed in detention in China -- marched to the Chinese liaison office to lodge a protest. Members accused China's president, Jiang Zemin, of violating human rights laws.

With Falun Gong showing no signs of muting its voice, some pro-democracy leaders say the government's treatment of the movement will be the stiffest test yet of Hong Kong's freedom and autonomy within China. "It looks as if the government means business," said Margaret Ng, a pro- democracy legislator. "Falun Gong may be very unwelcome in the mainland, but insofar as they are legal in Hong Kong, we should defend them."

Falun Gong has been registered as an association in Hong Kong since 1996. Its members gather in parks here in the mornings to practice [...] exercises. Most are indistinguishable from the scores of residents who practice tai chi or other traditional Chinese health rituals.

[...]. On Friday, two women distributing Falun Gong leaflets were assaulted by a man with an iron bar -- the first documented instance of violence toward members of the movement in Hong Kong.

Falun Gong representatives say they are only publicizing inhuman conduct by the Chinese government. "It is like having a friend run over by a car," said a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong group, Sophie Xiao. "If that person is in pain, can't we scream? If we don't scream, more people will die in China."

Ms. Xiao said Falun Gong was concerned that Beijing might press Hong Kong to outlaw it. But she predicted the government would be reluctant because it would jeopardize the territory's reputation for civil liberties. "The rule of law matters to people here," Ms. Xiao said. "If they want to investigate our activities, they can. But if they ban us, everyone in the world will know it is because of mainland pressure."