HONG KONG (AP) - The spiritual sect Falun Gong lashed out Wednesday at ``totalitarian'' Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and officials hoping a global finance conference will lure more business to Hong Kong found themselves defending security that critics called heavy-handed.
Falun Gong, outlawed as an ``evil sect'' in mainland China but legal in Hong Kong, has complained that more than 100 overseas practitioners were barred from entering Hong Kong over the past few days to join protests against Jiang.
Some of the world's top chief executives were pondering the profits they might make in Hong Kong and the mainland Chinese market that is gradually opening. But the three-day Fortune Global Forum, which ends Thursday, has been overshadowed by demonstrations.
Former President Clinton, who is attending the conference as a paid speaker, crossed the Hong Kong harbor Wednesday morning to visit Jiang. The meeting was characterized as a chance for them to privately reflect on the work they did together when Clinton was in the White House and the two nations sought closer ties.
Deputy Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, a former Chinese ambassador to the United States, described the meeting as ``a friendly chat.'' Clinton did not bring any formal message for Jiang and met with him in a private capacity, said Clinton's spokesman, P.J. Crowley.
Despite criticism of the intense security surrounding the conference, Hong Kong's No. 2 government official, Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang, insisted that Hong Kong remains one of the most open societies in the world. But he avoided questions about why so many Falun Gong people had been kept away.
``We hardly have any visa restrictions, but we do keep certain undesirable elements out,'' Tsang said. ``We have about 50 people denied entry every day on average. If you look at that figure, it's much less than most other countries or most other entry points.''
Tsang was asked whether ``undesirable elements'' referred to Falun Gong.
``No, no, no,'' Tsang said. ``They are all sort of things. They are international criminals, they are terrorists. They are all kinds of people.''
During separate demonstrations by pro-democracy protesters, police scuffled with activists and arrested four people Tuesday night. Demonstrators later marched to a police station, waved a big papier-mache Jiang head on a stick and demanded their colleagues be freed.
Falun Gong says the followers who were barred from Hong Kong included citizens from the United States, Britain and Australia who should be allowed to enter without visas.
The U.S. and British consulates said they have sought an explanation about why their citizens were kept out.
``I am quite sure that we will explain our position very clearly to them, to their satisfaction, over time,'' Tsang said.
Falun Gong says Hong Kong officials appeared to be doing Beijing's bidding - and the group took aim again Wednesday at Jiang, whom Falun Gong blames personally for the crackdown in China.
``Jiang is a totalitarian who won't respect human rights,'' Falun Gong spokeswoman Hui Yee-han said.
Falun Gong accuses Jiang of a crackdown that has killed 202 followers in mainland custody - a charge China says is false.
AP-NY-05-09-01 0646EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.