AFP: Hong Kong Rights Group Denies Accepting Money from Falun Gong

BEIJING, Jan 5 (AFP) - The director of a Hong Kong-based human rights group denied Friday Chinese accusations that his organization was being funded by the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

"The Falun Gong organization has never given us any money, our work in seeking to protect the human rights of Falun Gong followers is completely without self-interest," Frank Lu, director of the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, told AFP.

In an incendiary article run Friday, Xinhua news agency accused the human rights center and China's exiled political dissidents of all being in cahoots with the Falun Gong in an effort to overthrow the Chinese government.

"Our attitude is that no matter what faith a person has, you can't stand by and do nothing when there are so many violations of human rights," Lu said.

According to the center, China has placed tens of thousands of Falun Gong followers in reform camps and thrown hundreds of group leaders in jail.