Beijing - The Chinese government said yesterday that police had dealt with 35,792 cases of defiance by members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement since mid-summer, Conor O'Clery writes. Beijing however said that only 150 people had been arrested or were being sought on charges ranging from disturbing social order to stealing state secrets.
"This figure represents all those cases in which people who had tried to attend illegal gatherings in public places in Beijing since July were persuaded to leave or were taken away from the scene," a Chinese official said yesterday, giving the first-ever government tally of action against Falun Gong.