HONG KONG, Sept 3 (AFP) - Falungong practitioners staging a sit-in protest at an anti-cult exhibition here Monday urged the event's China-backed organisers to stop its "smear campaign" against the spiritual group.
"We want the organisers to put a stop to the smear campaign," said Lu Jie, who organised the protest. "There is no truth in the exhibition."
She demanded an apology from the organisers of the three-day exhibition, which is backed by groups including Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po.
"We want the organisers to apologize," said Lu, adding that the Falungong was registered in Hong Kong and was considering legal action.
Falungong practitioners have been protesting at the three-day exhibition since it opened on Sunday and are calling on its organisers to stop being used as "tools" of Beijing. Members plan to hand in a petition and confirmed their protest will continue until the event closes on Tuesday.
The three-day anti-cult exhibition, in the China Resources Building in business district Wanchai, is Hong Kong's second in less than six months. Organisers hope to draw attention to what they describe as the threat of Falungong.
The group, which is outlawed in China, is the focus of three of the four sections of the show, which claims Falungong has been responsible for the deaths of at least 1,660 people in China and has damaged society and the family unit.
Last week 10 Falungong members were arrested here for alleged obstruction after staging a hunger strike for 130 fellow practitioners who they claim are being held in a labour camp in Heilongjiang province, north-east China.
Human rights groups are concerned the arrests could signal a tougher stance against Falungong and the beginning of attempts to bring the group under control.
Falungong combines Buddhist-based philosophy and meditation exercises. Advocates say it promotes clean living and good health.
It was banned by the Chinese government in July 1999 in a move seen by many analysts as a sign top leaders feared its influence over the public.
The movement is still legal in Hong Kong, which enjoys a large degree of autonomy from Beijing under the terms of the 1997 handover agreement which saw sovereignty transferred from Britain to China.