Falun Gong members say they are opposed to suicide. The Information Center said that 20 among 70 Falun Gong members being held at the Beijing Prison in Tuanhe had refused food for five days. Some of those imprisoned were arrested Monday when 110 followers tried to visit the prison to see fellow members. Falun Gong has attracted millions of followers. It combines traditional meditation exercises with Buddhist, Taoist and the often unorthodox ideas of its founder, a former government grain clerk.
Believers say it promotes health and moral living.
Wang Xiuying died on May 22 in a Beijing hospital after police forced her to drink salt water to end a hunger strike, the Information Centre for Human Right and Democracy said. A second follower, Tian Shiqiang, died suddenly in Beijing police custody and his body was promptly cremated, raising suspicions he had been beaten to death, the centre said. The centre said it had confirmed the most recent deaths with police in the home towns of the dead detainees. China has acknowledged several deaths in police custody since the group was declared illegal, but says they were caused by suicide or natural causes. The movement initially shocked the atheist Communist party with a 10,000-member protest in Beijing on April 25, 1999.