HONG KONG, April 25 (Reuters) - More than 100 members of the Falun Gong spiritual group, outlawed in mainland China, staged a sit-in protest in central Hong Kong on Wednesday to call for an end to what they called "unreasonable persecution" by Beijing.
Seated in a lotus position, followers held up photographs of bruised limbs and other parts of the body which they said were injuries inflicted by police on Falun Gong members while in custody on the mainland.
Around them were banners reading: "Remember the April 25 peaceful petition," "Stop suppressing Falun Gong" and "Unreasonable persecution."
"We want China to stop suppressing our practitioners," said Kan Hung-cheong, a spokesman for the group in Hong Kong. "We also want the world to know that the protest in China two years ago was all because of Beijing's suppression."
Another 20 adherents held a peaceful, hour-long protest outside Beijing's Liaison Office after leaving a petition in front of it.
The demonstrations in Hong Kong, where the group is legal, marked the second anniversary of a mass Falun Gong protest in Beijing, which led to it being banned in July that year.
They were seen as preludes to a string of demonstrations planned to greet Chinese President Jiang Zemin when he visits Hong Kong between May 8 and 10 to address an economic conference.
Overseas followers are expected to converge on Hong Kong for Jiang's visit, which is scheduled just days ahead of the anniversary of the movement's May 13 foundation day.
Falun Gong shocked China's Communist Party two years ago when about 10,000 followers surrounded the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing to protest against attacks by some Chinese state-controlled newspapers.
Since banning the movement, Beijing has carried out a relentless crackdown, denouncing the group as an "evil cult" which brainwashes followers and aims to overthrow the government.
A small number of Falun Gong followers made brief protests individually or in pairs on Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Wednesday before being taken away by police.
On last year's anniversary, hundreds of followers were rounded up on the square in all-day protests.
Falun Gong says more than 190 members have died in police custody and thousands are in labour camps. The Chinese government acknowledges a handful of deaths in custody, but says they were suicides or from natural causes.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule but Beijing has promised it a large degree of autonomy for 50 years.
06:45 04-25-01
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