AP: U.N. chief, China discuss peacekeeping

BEIJING (AP)China today defended its prohibition of a sect that the government views as a threat to society, telling visiting U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that its policy is designed to prevent criminal activity.

China also promised Annan that it would bolster its role in U.N. peacekeeping operations in East Timor by adding administrators to a small contingent of police officers.

China has already sent a police force to East Timor and plans to send civilian staff to help administer the territory during its transition from Indonesian province to independent nation, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said after meeting with Annan.

"We hope that the U.N. will be truly committed to help achieve national reconciliation in East Timor and help the people of East Timor rebuild their homes," Tang said in brief remarks following the two-hour meeting.

The half-island territory was wracked by violence after East Timorese voted in August for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-supervised referendum.

Annan said he and Tang also discussed the crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which the government banned four months ago as a threat to society.

Annan had earlier expressed concern about the conduct of the government's campaign. Falun Gong members have complained of police beatings, illegal detentions and imprisonment in labor camps without trial and have repeatedly appealed for Annan's help.

As Annan met Tang today, 20 Falun Gong followers unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square before police swarmed over them and took them away.

Annan said Tang gave him "a full explanation as to how the government sees the group" and that he now has "a better understanding" of some of the issues involved.

"In dealing with this issue, the fundamental rights of citizens will be respected and some of the actions they are taking are for the protection of individuals," Annan said.

In briefing reporters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi reiterated that Chinese policy aims to punish "criminals who mastermind and calculate the criminal activities" and not ordinary Falun Gong followers. Sun denied any persecution was taking place.

"I think this question has already been fully understood by the majority of people in the world and also Mr. Kofi Annan himself," Sun said.

Annan met Chinese President Jiang Zemin and congratulated him on the breakthrough U.S.-China agreement reached Monday that will break down Chinese barriers to foreign business and push forward Beijing's 13-year campaign to join the World Trade Organization.

"It's good news for the whole world," China's state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Annan as saying.

Annan also said the decision by the U.S. Congress to pay nearly $1 billion in arrears for U.N. dues would help the United States "play a leadership role in making the U.N. a strong instrument for international peace and cooperation."