POLITIKEN [Danish newspaper]: Followers of Falun Gong Mistreated

21.11.01, by Goran Leijonhufvud

After staging a demonstration in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, a number of foreigners were arrested and are now awaiting deportation.

Approximately 35 Western followers of the Falun Gong meditation movement were arrested yesterday following a demonstration in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Those detained said that they were mistreated while held in a police van.
The foreigners were transferred last night to a hotel near the airport, and according to the Chinese state-run media, they will all be expelled shortly. During the day the Swedish, German and American embassies, among others, worked on securing their release. [..]

During the demonstration the group had unfurled a banner bearing the words “Falun Gong is good” and “Truth, Compassion and Forbearance”.
A Swedish demonstrator [..] managed to make a call from the police station using his cell phone. He said, “I was subjected to brutal mistreatment in the van. They punched, kicked and stomped on me. My arm is bleeding.” Moreover, he said that several of the women were dragged by their hair.
“We are not against any government. We promote tolerance and kindness,” said[..], another detainee.
The Western adherents of Falun Gong staged the demonstration to protest against the Chinese government’s ruthless persecution of the movement’s Chinese followers. The demonstrators claim that nearly 300 Falun Gong adherents have died during arrests, in prisons or as a result of persecution by the authorities.

[..]

Early on, individual Falun Gong adherents often disregarded the ban and showed their support for the movement in Tiananmen Square. [..] There are also many indications that the government has threatened and coerced people into abandoning Falun Gong.

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