Leaders of Falun Gong Sect May Be Prosecuted in China

China vowed Tuesday to punish leading members of the outlawed meditation group Falun Gong, in the strongest indication yet that the group’s organizers will be prosecuted.

An order issued by the executive offices of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, or cabinet, outlined ways government work teams pressing a crackdown against Falun Gong are to treat the group’s practitioners.

The order, carried by the official New China News Agency and read on state television, advised work teams to treat most members as victims, unaware of the “political goals and evil motives” of Falun Gong leaders.

Those ordinary members are to be treated with leniency if they renounce belief in Falun Gong and pledge not to practice or take part in group activities, the news agency said, citing the order.

Leading members who likewise repent and provide information on the inner workings of the group will also be granted immunity.

But “that extremely small number of backbone elements who organized and plotted behind the scenes to deliberately undermine social order must be punished by law,” the order said.

Although the report did not explicitly mention prosecution, detention without trial is limited to three years, making court trial the likeliest recourse for heavy punishment. If charged with subversion, leading members could face from 10 years to life in prison.

Falun Gong teaches a mix of Buddhist and Taoist ideas and slow-motion exercises that supposedly improve health. China’s leaders banned the group last month, fearing its popularity--60 million members, by one government estimate--could threaten the party’s claim to be China’s legitimate leader.

China has issued an arrest warrant for Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, a former grain bureau clerk who now leads the group from New York City. The United States has said it will not send Li back.

China has accused Li of orchestrating a protest by more than 10,000 members outside the Communist Party’s headquarters in Beijing on April 25. Two other members accused of planning the protest--Wang Zhiwen and Li Chang--are believed to be in custody.