AP: Hong Kong gives its OK for Falun Gong seminar

HONG KONG (AP) - In a move that could anger Beijing, officials in Hong Kong have granted permission to the Falun Gong spiritual group to hold an international conference inside its City Hall.

The Jan. 14 meeting by the [group] - which has faced a fierce crackdown in China but is legal in Hong Kong - is expected to attract up to 1,000 participants from Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, said a local Falun Gong spokesman, Kan Hung-cheung.

Hong Kong's Leisure and Cultural Services Department confirmed that it had allowed the sect to rent a public concert venue in City Hall.

"Our venues are open to any associations, communities and societies registered under the laws of the Hong Kong government," said department spokeswoman June Tong.

"You are eligible to hold any activities as long as it is lawful and related to the purpose of our venues," Tong said.

The Hong Kong office of China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a reporter's inquiry about the conference.

Falun Gong adherents say they have been blocked previously from renting space in local hotels. Kan said it will be the first such meeting in a government venue - although the sect has previously displayed pictures outside a local cultural center showing alleged abuses carried out by Chinese authorities against Falun Gong.

The Chinese central government has sent thousands of Falun Gong's followers to prison and labor camps.

Adherents have also recently run into trouble with authorities in Macau and Singapore for attempting to demonstrate without permission.

Fifteen followers of the movement who were arrested in Singapore for staging an unauthorized vigil on New Year's Eve were out on bail Wednesday. Thirteen of the detainees were released Tuesday. The remaining two, both Chinese citizens, were released late Wednesday after they surrendered their passports, Subordinate Court bail officer Raymond Loh said.

They were charged with obstructing a police officer and illegal assembly, charges that carry a maximum three-month jail term and fines. The accused are scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 9.

The group was among some 80 Falun Gong members who gathered in a Singapore park to honor fellow believers they say died in police custody in China.

Human rights groups say at least 92 Falun Gong members have died in detention, including four who were reported dead Tuesday by the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Beijing.

Falun Gong has attracted millions of followers, most of them in China, with its combination of slow-motion exercises and its philosophy drawn from Taoism, Buddhism and the often unorthodox ideas of founder Li Hongzhi.

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/