HONG KONG, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China's banned Zhong Gong meditation group issued an appeal on Monday to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to press Beijing to release its jailed leaders, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said.
The appeal comes as Beijing gets ready for a visit by an IOC inspection team from Wednesday, which will help the IOC decide which city will host the 2008 Olympics.
Beijing, Osaka, Toronto, Paris and Istanbul are vying to host the event.
In a statement, the Information Centre for Human Rights & Democracy said the Zhong Gong was pressing for the release of its jailed leaders, including Yan Chanjuan.
A string of leading Zhong Gong members were sent to labour camps last year for "inciting the subversion of state power."
Zhong Gong, like the better known Falun Gong, has been banned in China as an "evil cult" which uses "feudal superstition to deceive the masses."
Since September 1999, some 600 leading Zhong Gong members have been detained and 3,000 of its bases and branches have been closed, the centre said.
The appeal comes as Beijing renews a crackdown on the Falun Gong after recent fiery suicide attempts in Tiananmen Square and 18 months of protests by members of the outlawed group.
23:45 02-18-01
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