The protest, which had little warning, seemed to catch Chinese authorities off guard. Protesters began secretly pouring into the city before dawn and by midday had occupied sidewalks in central Beijing near the off-limits compound for senior leaders next to the Forbidden City. China's leaders are nervously awaiting the 10th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen student protests and have clamped down ruthlessly on political dissidents. But while authorities have focused their worries on unrest among students, democracy activists or labor leaders, the group to defiantly revive memories of Tiananmen turned out to be members of a popular following who did not have political protest in mind at all. Li, a Chinese native, now lives in the United States.
Followers believe it improves their health.
Chinese authorities estimate that there are more than 70 million people who practice Falun Gong. On Sunday, followers were demanding that the government allow them to openly practice their form of qigong. But Chinese authorities fear that it is giving rise to superstition, especially in the countryside. In January, President Jiang Zemin declared war on cults. In a science journal published in the nearby port city of Tianjin, a government researcher recently criticized Li Hongzhi and his following.