BEIJING, Feb. 14 -- In the largest such protest to date, more than 40 followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement from at least 10 countries unfurled banners today in Tiananmen Square, which was packed with thousands of people celebrating the Chinese New Year holiday. The protesters were immediately carried off by police.
The demonstration took place a week before a scheduled visit here by President Bush, during which religious freedom and human rights are likely to be high on the agenda.
Shouting "Falun Gong is good!," the foreign protesters vowed to fight against a crackdown on their movement that the Chinese government has carried out over the last two years. Dozens of Chinese security personnel swiftly surrounded them, confiscated their yellow banners and bundled them into nearby vehicles. In separate raids on hotels in Beijing, police rounded up 14 other foreign Falun Gong activists before they could make it to the square.
Seven foreign reporters, who had been called to the square by Falun Gong representatives to witness the protest, were also taken to a police station and questioned before being released.
A Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong said at least nine Germans, six Canadians, five Britons, two Finns and representatives from Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and France had come to Beijing to protest. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy said it had asked Chinese authorities for information on possible American detainees.
The demonstration was the fourth and largest protest in Tiananmen Square by foreign followers of the group. In November, 35 Westerners were expelled from China after a protest.
Using foreigners to protest on its behalf constitutes a new and risky activity for Falun Gong in China. Many Chinese interviewed today seemed opposed to the idea of foreigners protesting government policies on Chinese soil.
On Monday, police detained an American and a Canadian protesting on behalf of Falun Gong on Tiananmen Square. Levi Browde, 29, a software expert from New York, was expelled from China two days later. He told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he had come to Beijing to "let people know about the persecution" of religion in China.
In a brief dispatch on today's detentions, the official New China News Agency said the 40 foreigners were "reprimanded" but treated humanely by authorities. It accused them of violating laws barring illegal assemblies and "evil cults," the term Beijing often uses for Falun Gong. The Beijing police said "the trouble caused by these Falun Gong members was intended to prevent the Chinese people from celebrating" the lunar new year.
China outlawed Falun Gong in July 1999, declaring it an "evil cult." Since then hundreds of Falun Gong followers have been killed and thousands have been detained. Independent accounts of China's crackdown have documented widespread torture and brainwashing techniques designed to persuade Falun Gong adherents to break with the movement.
As the crackdown began, many Chinese sympathized with Falun Gong followers.
Chinese authorities failed in attempts to demonize its leader, Li Hongzhi, who moved to the United States in 1995.
But Li made a series of tactical mistakes, Chinese observers and Western diplomats said. He continued to call on his followers to protest, despite clear signs that security services were regularly beating and killing protesters. Then during the lunar new year last year, five people identified by Chinese authorities as Falun Gong followers set themselves afire on Tiananmen Square, and two died.
While Falun Gong representatives denied the five were members, the event proved to be a turning point in China's crackdown. Since then, China's population seems to generally back the crackdown.