China Defends Falun Gong Ban to U.N. Chief

China defended its prohibition of a spiritual movement to visiting U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday, and authorities hurriedly took away 20 Falun Gong members who unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square.

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told Annan that the government’s policy on the sect is designed to prevent criminal activity. It banned Falun Gong four months ago as a threat to society.

Annan, who earlier expressed concern about the ban, said Tang gave him “a full explanation as to how the government sees the group” and that he now has “a better understanding” of the issues involved.

“In dealing with this issue, the fundamental rights of citizens will be respected, and some of the actions they are taking are for the protection of individuals,” the secretary-general said.

Falun Gong members have complained of police beatings, illegal detentions and imprisonment without trial and have repeatedly appealed for Annan’s help.

Trying to catch Annan’s attention, sect members unfurled a banner reading “The Great Way of Falun” and meditated before police kicked and pushed them into a van.

The van knocked down a woman standing nearby. It was not clear whether she and others were protesters trying to stop the vehicle or onlookers who got in the way.