U.S. Newswire: Falun Gong Press Conference: Trial of Hong Kong

A Washington resident's personal experience with Hong Kong police Unedited video footage of scene during the arrest

Background Information on the Hong Kong Trial

On March 14, 2002, four Swiss and twelve Hong Kong practitioners of Falun Gong began a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Soon after, an official inside the Liaison office, phoned the Western Police Station to register a "complaint" about the protesters outside the building. Police quickly arrived in large numbers, surrounded the protesters with iron fences blocking off the main entranceway of the building.
Police then forcefully seized the protesters, employing violent means including squeezing pressure points and choking, according to eyewitnesses.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in China three years ago, Beijing has applied heavy pressure to Hong Kong to adopt its repressive policy against Falun Gong. Protests and appeals by Falun Gong practitioners have been markedly peaceful in nature both inside China and abroad. The police and legislators in Hong Kong, however, have gradually shown signs of adopting Beijing's oppressive stance on the practice during the last three years.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a powerful mind and body improvement practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Li Hongzhi introduced it to the public in 1992. Since then, millions of individuals in nearly 50 countries around the world have taken up the peaceful, meditative practice. Due to its popularity in China, Falun Gong was banned by Jiang Zemin's totalitarian regime in 1999. Arbitrary detentions, imprisonment, torture and intimidation are among the tactics employed by the Jiang regime to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong. Practitioners in China and abroad have responded with ongoing peaceful appeals to the Chinese Government and to world leaders for an end to the persecution.