Watched by hundreds of Chinese and foreign tourists, the Falun Gong members unfurled a yellow banner in the capital's Tiananmen Square and shouted slogans. The protesters were quickly bundled into police vans by plainclothes officers. Eyewitnesses say several were kicked and punched by police as they were dragged away. A huge security cordon was placed around Tiananmen Square as uniformed and plain-clothed police kept watch for any further attempts to protest.
Followers say it is a system of traditional meditation and exercise.
The scattered protests broke out amid thousands of bystanders big in Tiananmen Square. But witnesses said there were fewer demonstrators than on previous occasions. Security around Tiananmen was especially tight, with police checking identification cards and questioning visitors and at least 20 police vans on hand to whisk away the handful of protesters. Two women holding a bright yellow banner with red lettering were hustled into a police van. Witnesses said two plainclothes policemen ran up and punched her in the face.