HONG KONG (Reuters) - Members of the controversial Falun Gong spiritual movement are considering legal action against some Chinese leaders including President Jiang Zemin and Hong Kong police officers for what they call "persecution."
Kan Hung-cheung, a leader of the movement in Hong Kong, revealed the possible moves on Friday, a day after 16 Falun Gong members were fined in Hong Kong for public obstruction and other offences during a demonstration against China in March.
He said the 16 were considering filing a civil suit in Hong Kong to seek compensation from the police officers responsible for the decision to arrest them during the March protest.
"They were unlawful arrests," Kan told Reuters. "Theoretically we can claim compensation for unlawful acts through a civil suit."
"We've held preliminary talks with our lawyers. We'll talk further to study its feasibility," he said. "If we do it, we'll do it as soon as possible." He gave no timetable.
Kan said a group of Falun Gong followers from different parts of the world might also sue Jiang and other Chinese leaders for their suppression of the spiritual movement.
In a case that has raised fears about personal freedoms here under Chinese rule, a local court on Thursday fined 16 members, including four Swiss, one New Zealander and two U.S. residents from Hong Kong, for public obstruction. Some were further fined for willfully obstructing and assaulting police.
It was the first time that members of the controversial spiritual movement had been prosecuted in Hong Kong, where personal rights under previous laws were retained after China took the territory back from Britain in 1997.
FREEDOMS?
"Switzerland gives great importance to the freedom of expression and we are therefore quite surprised by the verdict," a spokeswoman for the Swiss consulate in Hong Kong said.
Few newspapers in Hong Kong gave the story prominent coverage, with at least one not reporting the judgement at all.
However, the Asian Wall Street Journal opined: "If (the) government wishes to uphold Hong Kong's status as a stable base for the international business community, it would make sense to focus... more on preserving the impartiality of the police and judiciary."
The Ming Pao daily said it was hardly credible or acceptable to the public that a small group of protesters should be punished for obstruction.
"This is harmful to Hong Kong's international image. The charges should never have been laid," the newspaper said.
All 16 defendants have said they would appeal.
Falun Gong is outlawed in mainland China but remains legal in Hong Kong. Beijing promised the former British colony a high degree of autonomy after it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.