DATE=7/20/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-FALUN GONG (L)
NUMBER=2-264609
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:  More than 90 protesters from the banned 
Falun Gong spiritual movement have been arrested 
in Beijing's Tiananmen Square (Thursday), as they 
marked the first anniversary of a Chinese 
government crackdown against their group. As 
VOA's Leta Hong Fincher reports from Beijing, 
China's leaders admit that they are finding it 
difficult to control the activities of the sect.

TEXT: Scores of Falun Gong protesters were 
arrested Thursday morning within seconds of 
striking a meditative pose or attempting to 
unfurl a yellow banner decorated with the red 
Chinese characters from their movement.  

Hundreds of plainclothes and uniformed police 
scoured the square, arresting most of the 
protesters peacefully.  But one man was kicked 
repeatedly by police after being shoved into a 
waiting van.  Another middle-aged woman sitting 
in a lotus position was grabbed by two 
plainclothes police who pushed her head down, and 
pinned her arms behind her back as they forced
her away from the Square.

            /// ZHU ACT 1, EST. IN CHINESE, THEN 
FADE ///

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao 
defended the arrests at a regular press briefing 
Thursday afternoon.  Mr. Zhu says the Falun Gong
protesters were part of what he called an evil 
sect, which has caused calamity to the Chinese 
people.  He says the government remains resolute 
in its determination to crack down on the group. 

But for the first time since the sect was banned 
a year ago, the government is acknowledging that 
it is having trouble wiping out the movement.

            ///ZHU ACT 2, EST. IN CHINESE, THEN 
FADE///

Mr. Zhu says China's leaders recognize that the 
fight against the Falun Gong will be what he 
called a long-term, complicated and very acute
struggle. 

Police have been arresting scores of Falun Gong 
followers every day for the last week, as 
protesters converge on Beijing from all over the 
country to mark the first anniversary of the 
crackdown on their group. Protests are expected 
to continue for the next several days.
(signed)
 
NEB/HK/LHF/JO

 






20-Jul-2000 06:11 AM EDT (20-Jul-2000 1011 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.