Radio Australia, Sep. 1, 2002
http://abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_664260.htm
Members of the spiritual group Falungong have staged a protest at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, to call for the release of practitioners held in Chinese jails.
Four Falungong members meditated on prayer mats under two large protest banners, as others handed out leaflets to passing delegates.
The peaceful protest took place outside a library that is within the sprawling venue for the Earth Summit, but outside the closely-guarded core of the zone, where political leaders are meeting.
A Falungong member from Australia, Nancy Chen, says the group had sent 15 activists to the Earth Summit, all of them living in countries other than China and Hong Kong, to represent the group and to lobby for detained followers.
China has officially branded Falungong an evil cult in July, 1999.
Human rights groups claim that since then, authorities have sent thousands of followers to labour camps or prison, with a sizeable number dying in custody.