China calls on US to crackdown on Falungong after heckling

AFP | April 25 2006

China asked Tuesday how a Falungong member was allowed to breach security and heckle President Hu Jintao during his US visit, and urged Washington to take firmer action against the group.

"As to how the Falungong member snuck into the welcoming ceremony, you should ask the US side. Such an incident happened despite the US being famous for its tight security," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

Wang Wenyi, 47, repeatedly yelled slogans such as "Falun Dafa (Falungong) is good" and "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falungong" while Hu made his opening remarks on the White House lawn last week.

Wang was later identified as a reporter for the Falungong supporting Epoch Times who used a temporary press pass to get into the media section of the ceremony held to mark Hu's meeting with US President George W. Bush.

Bush later apologised to Hu for the incident and Wang was charged with seeking to "intimidate, coerce, frighten or harass" Hu.

Qin said Wang's actions should convince the United States that China's opinion of Falungong was correct.

"Through this incident, we hope the US side will see clearly what Falungong really is. It's not just an evil cult, but an anti-China political organisation that hurts Sino-US relations," Qin said.

Qin said the Chinese "made representations" on the issue with the US.

He also indicated Beijing was looking for the United States to take firmer action against Falungong, after the group dogged Hu wherever he went during his four-day US trip, his first to the United States as president.

"We also requested the US side to take effective measures to stop this organisation from carrying out activities that oppose China and harm Sino-US relations," Qin said.

"This will be beneficial to the healthy development of Sino-US relations."

Falungong members loudly protested at the US capital as well as in Seattle and at Yale University. They put signs along the route of Hu's drive to Microsoft and Boeing, and held late night vigils outside his hotel.

Banned by China in 1999 as an "evil cult," the Falungong spiritual group claims thousands of its members in China have died due to state persecution with tens of thousands of others jailed.

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