The New York Times

Friday, November 12, 1999

China Jails First Group of Falun Gong Leaders

By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - China jailed four leaders of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement for up to 12 years on Friday in the first known trial of members of what the Communist government has decreed ``an evil cult.''

The Intermediate People's Court in Haikou, capital of the southern island province of Hainan, sentenced Song Yuesheng to 12 years in prison after a seven-hour trial, a court official said.

Song -- described by state media as an ``organizer, schemer and commander'' of Falun Gong in Hainan -- was convicted of organizing 13 illegal protests in Hainan between July 22 and Sept. 9, the official Xinhua news agency said.

One on Aug. 8 attracted more than 180 adherents, causing ''grave consequences,'' Xinhua said without giving specifics.

The court also found Song guilty of escaping from police custody in August, the agency said.

SHARING EXPERIENCE

Song traveled around China and incited fellow practitioners in 10 other cities to join a civil disobedience campaign by sharing his ``experience'' with them, it said.

Co-defendant Chen Yuan was jailed for seven years on similar charges of ``using a cult to violate the law,'' Xinhua said. The court showed leniency to Jiang Shilong, who received three years for showing ``sincere remorse,'' it said.

The fourth, Liang Yulin, a woman, ``admitted guilt with a good attitude'' and was given a two-year jail term, it added.

The defendants ``defied the nation's laws,'' it quoted the court as saying. ``They refused to fulfil their legal duties as citizens and seriously disturbed social order.''

They have 10 days to appeal, the court official said.

The sentences were the first meted out by a Chinese court since the government banned Falun Gong in July and launched a crackdown. The movement claims 100 million members worldwide.

The government, which says two million is a more accurate figure, declared it ``an evil cult'' last month and vowed to wipe it out.

FACE TRIALS

More than 100 Falun Gong members have been formally arrested in a nationwide crackdown and are expected to face trial. Many more are under various forms of administrative detention, like labor camps, which are not subject to the judicial process.

China's Communist rulers saw Falun Gong as one of the biggest threats to their grip on power in April after more than 10,000 members staged a surprise, silent protest outside Beijing's Zhongnanhai leadership compound to demand official recognition.

The government has blamed Falun Gong for the deaths of about 1,400 practitioners.

Falun Gong, which mixes Buddhist and Taoist beliefs with meditation and breathing exercises designed to harness inner energy and heal, discourages adherents from seeking medical help.

The group has burrowed its way into the ranks of the Communist Party, the government and the military. It has also attracted support from the most vulnerable sections of society, including the unemployed, the elderly and the sick.

INVECTIVE CONTINUES

The People's Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, devoted a full page Friday to invective by academics against Falun Gong.

Chinese People's University professor Hao Lixin labeled it ''the tumor of society.'' Beijing Teachers' University philosophy professor Zhou Guidian called it ``the AIDS of society.''

U.S.-based Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi has defended his movement, saying it is apolitical and poses no threat to Communist rule. Li preaches salvation from a world corrupted by science, technology and decadence.

China is under fire for its harsh crackdown on Falun Gong. A Hong Kong-based human rights group has said at least six Falun Gong members had died in custody since August. The government has named three women who died in custody, but denied maltreatment.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, due in Beijing on Sunday, said he planned to raise the Falun Gong issue.

``I'm a bit puzzled by the official Chinese government reaction,'' he said in Tokyo. ``I will have the opportunity of discussing the issue with Chinese officials.