HONG KONG, March 4 (Reuters) - Protesters accused the Hong Kong government on Sunday of undermining the territory's autonomy by toeing Beijing's line in criticising the controversial Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Eight pro-democracy activists condemned senior officials' recent criticism of the Falun Gong, with the latest being remarks by Security Secretary Regina Ip this week that the group was "heretical" and encouraged superstition.
"(They are) spreading evil fallacies to deceive people!" the protesters chanted as they marched to the government's headquarters.
They burned a broom with a paper face, saying it symbolised Ip, whose nickname is "Broom's Head" due to her hair style.
"I hope Mrs Ip, when she sees this, can understand the feeling members of Falun Gong have -- when you are accused of being superstitious and actually you just have your own religious belief," said Gary Fan, a spokesman for the protesters, who belonged to the Social Democracy Forum.
"We think Mrs Ip doesn't have concrete evidence that members of Falun Gong violate Hong Kong law," he added.
"In human history, there have been so many tragedies being caused by different kinds of government who used the same excuse (that they are) superstitious, to control, to suppress ... their religious belief," Fan said.
They urged the administration to sack Ip, who is not the first government official to make unfavourable comments on Falun Gong.
Last month, Hong Kong's Beijing appointed leader Tung Chee-hwa said the movement had some traits of an "evil cult."
The demonstrators said the movement should not be branded as an "evil cult" as long as they violated no law.
Falun Gong is banned in mainland China but legal in Hong Kong, a former British colony which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 as a highly autonomous territory.
Pressure has escalated on the local government to take a tougher stance towards the group since 1,000 Falun Gong followers held a two-day international conference at Hong Kong's City Hall in January. They condemned Chinese President Jiang Zemin and China's crackdown on the group.
In Beijing, Zeng Jianhui, spokesman for the National People's Congress (NPC), told a news conference China's parliament was "very much concerned" about recent Falun Gong activities in Hong Kong.
"We believe the government of Hong Kong will deal with the Falun Gong issue in strict accordance with the 'one country, two systems' principle, the Basic Law of Hong Kong, and other laws of that special administrative region from the standpoint of protecting the interests of Hong Kong citizens," Zeng said.