DATE=1/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA / GENERAL (L)
NUMBER=2-258061
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:


INTRO:  A Hong Kong-based human rights group says 
China has sentenced a retired air force general to 17 
years in prison for playing a major role in the banned 
Falun Gong exercise and meditation movement.  V-O-A 
Correspondent Roger Wilkison reports the group says 
74-year-old Yu Changxin was tried earlier this month, 
in secret, by a military court.

TEXT:  General Yu -- a former professor at the Air 
Force Command College -- is the highest-ranking member 
of the Chinese establishment to be jailed for links to 
Falun Gong.

The Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic 
Movement in China -- which closely monitors dissident 
activities -- says General Yu was accused of 
masterminding a Falun Gong protest last April in front 
of the Beijing compound where China's leaders live and 
work.

That demonstration spooked (worried) the government, 
which became alarmed at Falun Gong's organizational 
ability.  Three months later, the government banned 
Falun Gong -- describing it as an evil cult.

The information center says the conviction of General 
Yu has outraged other retired air force generals.  In 
a message faxed to news organizations, the center 
quotes one former general as saying the government has 
gone too far.

Falun Gong claims 100 million members worldwide, among 
them 60 to 70 million inside China.  The government 
says there are only two million Falun Gong followers 
in China.

But the movement -- which combines Buddhist and Taoist 
teachings with breathing exercises designed to harness 
energy in the body and improve health -- has attracted 
many current and former members of the military and 
the security services.  It has also found adherents 
among the most vulnerable sectors of society, 
including the elderly, the unemployed and the sick.

The government blames Falun Gong for the death of more 
than 14 hundred followers it says were instructed to 
turn down medical help when they became ill.

The information center says General Yu was charged 
with responsibility in some of those deaths and was 
also accused of helping Falun Gong expand its 
membership.  (signed) 

NEB/ RW / WD



14-Jan-2000 04:41 AM EDT (14-Jan-2000 0941 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.