August 8, 2001

HONG KONG, Aug 8, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The mother of a local Falun Gong member held in Beijing on Wednesday started a three-day protest walk here

Wednesday to seek his release.

Lau Yuk-ling, 58, started her walk to campaign for the release of her Beijing-born son, Chan Yuk-to, 35, whose whereabouts are unknown since he was arrested by Beijing police on July 12.

Lau, also a Falun Gong practitioner, was accompanied by 20 other practitioners on the first 10-kilometer (six-mile) stage of her walk.

"I'm afraid that my son could be persecuted in China," she told reporters, adding that her husband had so far failed in attempts to see their son.

She called on the Beijing authorities to release her son so that they could be reunited.

Lau last week petitioned Hong Kong immigration authorities to ask the government for assistance in investigating the case.

The protest walk will end on Friday with a group meditation and an open letter to be submitted to the Chinese government's liaison office here.

"The campaign to rescue Chan Yuk-to is not launched in the interest of him or his family alone, it is also intended to raise public awareness of the lack of rule of law and the cruel treatments that Falun Gong practitioners in China are being subjected to," said Sophie Xiao, spokeswoman for spiritual group in Hong Kong.

"The campaign is also aimed to call for a stop to the torture and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners on the mainland," said Xiao.

Chan, who had moved to Hong Kong in 1992, had been working in the Chinese capital for a foreign company as a technician for two years when he was suddenly seized by Beijing police, who provided no reason for his arrest.

China outlawed the Falun Gong in July 1999 after the group staged a massive silent protest in Beijing, and authorities have rounded up hundreds of practitioners. But the movement remains legal in Hong Kong. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse)

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