HONG KONG, June 15 (Reuters) - More than 100 Falun Gong members gathered outside Hong Kong's government headquarters on Friday in protest at the territory's leader, Tung Chee-hwa, branding the spiritual movement an evil cult.
Wearing the trademark yellow tee-shirts, they performed their slow-moving exercises, while some waved banners denouncing Tung's comments as preposterous.
Tung on Thursday called the Falun Gong a well-organised, evil cult with a political agenda, but he said he had no immediate plans to propose legislation banning the movement.
The remarks were his bluntest yet on the group, which was banned in mainland China in mid-1999.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 with the promise of broad freedoms and a high degree of autonomy.
"All we do is exercise either at home or in a park to improve our health, and study the teachings to upgrade our moral standards. As a result, we have become mentally and physically healthy people. Mr Tung, why is that evil?" the group said in a petition letter.
The group also said it was "vicious" for a senior Tung aide to have compared the movement recently to the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult, whose nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 left 12 dead and thousands ill.
China, which accuses the Falun Gong of trying to topple its communist leadership, has intensified a crackdown on the group since an apparent suicide attempt by alleged members in Beijing in January.
A mother and her 12-year-old daughter died after the self-immolation on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Several Hong Kong newspapers lashed out at Tung on Friday.
In an editorial headlined "The Communist Party looks more like an evil cult than the Falun Gong," the widely-circulated Apple Daily said: "What's frightening is...Mr Tung is paving the way for policies or laws to suppress or ban the Falun Gong."
The South China Morning Post said Tung's remarks were "alarming and unnecessary" and "would raise doubts about Hong Kong's willingness to protect freedoms of religion and assembly."
07:15 06-15-01
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