HONG KONG (February 10, 2001 11:07 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Two allies of the Beijing government met for the first time with Falun Gong followers and warned them they must cut ties with mainland adherents, both sides said Saturday.
Falun Gong said it wanted to promote understanding by asking for the face-to-face session here with two representatives of China's National People's Congress - but there was no apparent shift in positions.
"If you keep pushing so hard, you'll just be hitting your head against a wall," Raymond Wu, one of the Congress representatives, told members of the meditation sect during the meeting.
Wu and colleague Ma Lik talked for 75 minutes with Falun Gong figures including Kan Hung-cheung, a local spokesman for the sect. China's Xinhua News Agency has singled out Kan as "a backbone member of the evil cult."
Kan called the meeting a "good start" to promoting understanding with Beijing's allies, who accuse Falun Gong of abusing Hong Kong's free speech rights to try to subvert the Chinese government.
In a videotape of the meeting, Kan urged the Beijing allies to help Falun Gong "make this a start - a rational, well intended and peaceful communication channel."
Wu and Ma said they were meeting with Falun Gong in their personal capacities. Ma said Saturday he would not be used as a conduit for Falun Gong to deliver its messages to the Chinese leadership in Beijing.
The adversaries met in the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, the biggest pro-Beijing party, where Ma serves as secretary general. Party workers used paper to cover up all party emblems so they could not be seen in the videotape.
Falun Gong is legal in Hong Kong but outlawed in mainland China, where the authorities are engaged in an often-brutal crackdown. Followers in Hong Kong regularly protest against Beijing's suppression, calling for the right to practice freely and an end to alleged torture and killings by police.
Pro-Beijing forces are outraged to see what they view as anti-China activities on Chinese soil.
Hong Kong's political leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, labeled Falun Gong a "cult" on Thursday and said Hong Kong authorities will closely monitor its activities.
Pro-democracy politicians and human rights activists are worried the battle will end with Hong Kong clamping down on Falun Gong and eroding the territory's freedoms.
But some said they were encouraged to see the two sides meet.
"My worry is that criticizing the central government in a high-profile way is seen to be a sin here," said Law Yuk-kai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. "That's something not very heartening, but it's good there's some type of dialogue."
Wu told the Falun Gong followers they were carrying things too far and accused Falun Gong of pushing the limits of Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" form of government. The system was put in place at the end of the British colonial era and recognizes China's sovereignty while giving Hong Kong considerable local autonomy.
Kan said Saturday that Falun Gong would persist in its campaigning.
"Our thinking is same as ever," Kan said by telephone. "We'll continue to appeal for a stop to the persecution in China. I can't see why we should cut the ties, especially when the Chinese members are being persecuted."