Government Says 242 Sect Leaders Punished

In a rare disclosure, Beijing said it has punished 242 organizers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and sent an undisclosed number of its followers to labor camps during an 18-month-old crackdown. It did not specify what the punishments were. The statement, which followed a major gathering of Falun Gong members in Hong Kong, appeared aimed at countering claims that thousands of sect followers are in jails or camps. The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a Hong Kong-based group, alleges that at least 10,000 members are being held in more than 300 labor camps and that 98 have been killed.