China Offers Reward in Sect Crackdown

China has put out a reward for information leading to the capture of the leader of a banned meditation sect who lives in the United States, state-run media reported Tuesday.

Li Hongzhi, leader of the banned Falun Gong sect, topped a list of wanted criminals put out by Chinese police, who will begin paying rewards of more than $6,000 for tips leading to their arrest, the Beijing Evening News reported, quoting police sources.

China issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Li, who lives in New York. It has also asked the international police agency Interpol to issue an arrest warrant against him, but the French-based agency refused Tuesday because of a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed.

Beijing is trying to crush Falun Gong, destroying the group’s books and using the media to discredit the sect’s mystical philosophy. China, which says the group is seeking political power, accuses Li of staging unauthorized protests and spreading superstition.

The offer of a reward, however, is likely to carry only symbolic importance in the government’s campaign to crush the movement because there is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and China.

The Chinese government banned Falun Gong last month. The sect’s wide membership and ability to rally thousands of people in protest raised fears that it might galvanize public discontent over rising unemployment, corruption and other social ills.

Li, who founded Falun Gong in 1992, has denied that his group has political ambitions. He also has denied organizing protests, including one that drew 10,000 followers in April to a tightly guarded compound in Beijing where the government’s leaders live and work.

According to reports posted on Falun Gong’s Web site, police have continued to round up sect leaders. Employers and neighbors of Falun Gong devotees have been ordered to persuade members to quit the sect.

Falun Gong is one of many schools of qigong, a popular traditional practice aimed at improving health through exercise, meditation and attempts to channel energy within the body.