Previous entry: P.E.I. commune ruled by fear of God, court told
Next entry: China Court Sentences Sympathizers
Related
Advertisements *
Advertise Here *
Elsewhere
Subscribe: RSS
 |
RNB's RSS feed What is this? |
Subscribe: Email
 |
 Subscribe by Email What is this? |
Most Popular
- Cult leader Wayne Bent ends ‘religious fast’
- John Travolta’s 16-year-old son dies
- Forensic interview with girl in Tony Alamo case leaked to website
- Priest’s 2006 conviction in nun’s murder stands
- Neo-Nazi Violence: German Mayor in Hiding after Far-Right Threat
- 9 Muslims Are Pulled From Plane and Denied Re-entry; Airline Apologizes Next Day
- Jett Travolta’s death shines spotlights on cult’s quackery
- Tom Cruise gets more mileage out of claim that Scientology cured his dyslexia
- Facts don’t fit claims of FLDS welfare fraud
- Judge: smuggled monkey meat needed for religious reasons? Still need a permit
Falun Gong Supporters on Trial
More articles on this topic: Falun GongAP, Sep. 19, 2002
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/
BEIJING (AP) _ Fifteen supporters of the banned Falun Gong group have gone on trial on charges of breaking into a cable television system in March to show protest videos in two Chinese cities, a court spokesman said Thursday.
The March 5 incident marked the start of a campaign by Falun Gong supporters who have hijacked television signals in at least four areas to show videos opposing China’s 3-year-old crackdown on the spiritual group.
The trial started Wednesday in the northeastern city of Changchun, said the spokesman for the city’s Intermediate-Level People’s Court. He said a verdict was expected next week but didn’t know what penalties the defendants might face. The spokesman would give only his surname, Fang.
The broadcast in Changchun and nearby Songyuan criticized the 1999 ban on the group, according to residents who saw it.
They said it included scenes of Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, a former Chinese government employee who lives in the United States.
The defendants in Changchun are charged with breaking anti-cult laws and broadcast regulations, said the court spokesman.
The defendants, most of them unemployed, include two engineers with backgrounds in electronics, said Li Shichang, a police spokesman in Changchun.
China banned Falun Gong in mid-1999 on the grounds that the multimillion-member group threatened public safety and communist rule.
An often-brutal crackdown has stripped the group of much of its public following.
Falun Gong activists abroad say hundreds of supporters have been killed in detention. Chinese officials acknowledge that some have died, but blame the deaths on hunger strikes or members’ refusal of medical attention.
The television break-ins have embarrassed the government, which denounces the broadcasts as “reactionary propaganda” and says they threaten social order.
In June, a state-run satellite system briefly displayed messages of support for Falun Gong in a TV broadcast after its signal was hijacked.
The government has responded by announcing measures aimed at tightening control of television and satellite systems.
A senior official in June referred to Falun Gong sympathizers who have taken over broadcasts as “skilled and professional.”
Falun Gong sympathizers also have used e-mail and the Internet to spread protest messages, and clandestinely post flyers in Chinese cities.
What You Can Do From Here
|
Read More Articles On These Topics
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Read Another Article
Previous entry: P.E.I. commune ruled by fear of God, court told Next entry: China Court Sentences Sympathizers
RNB Homepage with latest headlinesFind Related Information
Find Related Books
|
Share This Article
To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:
