Thursday, February 14, 2002

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Police arrest a protester from the banned Falun Gong [group] in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP

Associated Press

Beijing -- Chinese police said Thursday they detained more than 40 foreign members of the outlawed Falun Gong [...] group who demonstrated on Beijing's central Tiananmen Square.

New York-based Falun Gong activists said between 50 and 100 members from Western countries had planned to demonstrate. The group said another 14 Western followers were detained by Chinese police in their hotels before the protest.

The protest forced police to briefly clear tourists from the centre of the square, one of China's most important public monuments.

At least three police minibuses and several squad cars were visible scurrying about the square picking up protesters as they appeared from a crowd gathered for Chinese New Year holidays.

It was impossible to tell from a distance the nationality of the protesters or what they may have been saying.

[...]

Security was extremely tight even before the protest. Westerners approaching the square were asked to show identification. Foreign journalists were turned away or physically held. At least seven foreign reporters were also taken to a police station and questioned.

Chinese voices could be heard in the station shouting "Falun Gong is not a crime," though it was not known whether any Chinese nationals had also been detained.

This is the fourth and largest protest to date on Tiananmen Square by foreign followers of the group. On Monday, an American and a Canadian were detained. The American was expelled from China two days later.

In November, 35 Westerners were expelled from China after a protest. A Canadian woman who staged a lone protest last month was held overnight and expelled.

The protest came on the last day of a three-day national holiday for lunar New Year.

[...]

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