C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t
September 22, 1999
==========================================Nation-Wide Crackdown on Falungong Before Anniversary
[CND 09/21/99] Three hundred Falungong followers were arrested across the nation recently as security continues to tighten for the People's Republic of China to celebrate its 50th anniversary, said the Hong Kong-based information Center for Human Rights and Democracy Movement in China, AFP reported.
The information center added that arrests took place last week in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanchang, Shijiazhuang, as well as in Shenyang. The official Beijing Youth Daily also reported that twenty members were arrested last Thursday ahead of their plans to "stir-up" trouble in Nanchang, the capital of the eastern province of Jiangxi.
While the Chinese government claimed they have succeeded in fending off majority of the Falungong group, police nation-wide are instructed to remain alert for any illegal Falungong gatherings. "Departments at every level must ensure that no incidents threatening state security are allowed to occur during the anniversary period," said JIA Chunwang, the Minister of Public Security. (LEUNG Wing Yun, YIN De An)