[August 22, 2001]

Chinese government officials in New York on Tuesday refused to accept a letter demanding the release of hundreds of followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, who are held captive in China. The letter was the latest step in an intensifying campaign to free Falun Gong practitioners jailed in China, including 130 followers on a hunger

strike at a Chinese labor camp and a New York based acupuncturist convicted of espionage.

"Just take the letter," said Adam Montanaro, a Falun Gong practitioner, who carried the envelope to the door of the Chinese consulate in Manhattan. "It's just a piece of paper." But the embassy official blocking the door declined, and asked the protesters to leave.

The protesters insisted for about 20 minutes, until a police officer with a red mustache effectively ended the effort by helping the embassy official close the door.

The refusal came as no surprise to Yan Zuo, 56, one of about 80 protesters gathered in front of the consulate. "We try to contact the Chinese government," said Yan, who had been on a hunger strike for four days. "But it's always useless. We have nowhere to turn to."

The Falun Gong movement is outlawed in China and many of its practitioners have been jailed, including the 130 people reportedly on a hunger strike in the Mashanjia camp, in the Liaoning province of China. The letter demanded their immediate release, as well as that of Teng Chunyan, a professor at the New York College of Oriental Medicine. Teng was sentenced to prison in China last year for her involvement with the movement.

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http://www.earthtimes.org/aug/humanrightschineseaug22_01.htm

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