Mon May 13, 2002

BEIJING - Police checked tourists' bags Monday amid heightened security on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, trying to prevent protests as Falun Gong members marked the 10th anniversary of the founding of the banned group.

Supporters abroad said Falun Gong planned events in Tokyo, Sydney and other cities. Barefoot protesters in Hong Kong lined up to form the Chinese characters for "Falun Gong is good."

China banned Falun Gong in July, 1999 [...].

In the first years of the ban, May 13 brought protests on Tiananmen Square by dozens of followers who were beaten by police and quickly detained.

The date marks the birthday of Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi and the day he began [his teaching] in 1992. [...]

Falun Gong attracted millions of followers with its slow-motion exercises and doctrines drawn from traditional Chinese belief and Li's teachings. [...]

Chinese members have shifted from public protest to underground agitation, spreading their message by Internet and fliers posted in secret. Supporters have broken into cable television systems in at least three Chinese cities to show [truth clarifying] videos.

There was no sign of protests early Monday on Tiananmen Square, where Falun Gong members once staged daily demonstrations.

Dozens of green-uniformed and plainclothes guards crisscrossed the square under a light rain. They searched tourists' shoulder bags, possibly for protest banners or leaflets. A gray-haired man in a blue Mao suit chuckled as he showed them that his bulky bag held a folded raincoat.

[...]

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