HONG KONG: Sixteen followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement appeared in a Hong Kong court yesterday, charged with public obstruction. This is the first time members of the organisation have been charged in the city.
Though banned in mainland China, the movement has remained legal in Hong Kong, which was promised a high degree of autonomy when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The decision to prosecute the group, which includes four Swiss nationals, is bound to raise fresh questions about freedom in the territory, five years into Chinese rule.
Yesterday's proceedings sparked a renewed outcry from the group, which accused Beijing of meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and damaging the "one country, two systems" principle under which the former British colony was handed back to China.
"The Hong Kong authority's violent arrest and framed-up prosecution against the \ have apparently originated from the pressure of mainland authority or its agent," the Hong Kong Falun Gong group said in a statement.
The 16 were charged with causing a public obstruction during a protest outside Beijing's main representative office in Hong Kong on March 14th, when they denounced Beijing's crackdown on the movement.