China Detains 4 Foreigners at Sect Gathering

An American, two Australians and a Swedish student were among 15 people detained in southern China at a gathering of the banned sect Falun Gong, a human rights group and diplomats said Friday.

Police raided Thursday’s meeting in the city of Guangzhou, according to a Hong Kong-based rights group, the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China.

Thousands of Falun Gong followers have been detained since the Chinese government banned the spiritual movement in July. Some followers have received sentences of up to 12 years in prison, and more are awaiting trial. Hundreds, if not thousands, of others reportedly have been sent without trial to labor camps.

The official People’s Daily accused the sect Friday of plotting with “foreign anti-China forces,” but the newspaper did not mention the detained foreigners. The front-page commentary accused Falun Gong leaders of trying to overthrow the government, a charge they have denied.

The Hong Kong rights group identified the American as Sun Jie, 30, a Chinese-born software engineer. It said the Australians were Jiang Xili and Jiang Huijie.

The fourth, Anne Hakosalo, 31, of Sweden, was released Thursday after 10 hours in custody, said Rigmor Petterson, a Swedish diplomat in Beijing.

Hakosalo was not charged with a crime and was preparing to return to northeastern China, where she is studying at Dalian University, Petterson said. Hakosalo told the Finnish Broadcasting Co. that police did not tell her why she was detained but took her passport and would not let her contact the Swedish Embassy.

Authorities in Guangzhou confirmed that an American was detained for questioning and have identified the person, said Mark Canning, public affairs officer for the U.S. Consulate there.

Canning would not confirm the American’s name, citing embassy rules. U.S. officials were pressing for more information and a speedy resolution of the case, he said.

The Australian Consulate in Guangzhou said it was trying to confirm reports that an Australian was among the detainees.

Falun Gong combines meditation exercises with Buddhism and Taoism to promote well-being.