Dow Jones International News: Sydney Women Says Chinese Police Treated Her Like "A Spy"

01/31/2003

HONG KONG (AP)--An Australian member of the Falun Gong meditation [group] accused mainland Chinese police Friday of locking her up in several hotels in southwestern China for more than a week and interrogating her as if she were "a spy."

The Sydney woman [...] was released Thursday and flew to Hong Kong. She said she would return to Australia soon.

Chen, 35, claimed police arrested her Jan. 22 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and detained her in various hotels in Sichuan until her release.

Officials repeatedly asked who sent her there, and what her relationship was with the New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center, she said. Falun Dafa is another name for Falun Gong.

"They treated me as if I was a high-level spy," Chen told The Associated Press over the phone. "I was not allowed to leave the hotel room or to make any phone calls. They confiscated all my stuff."

Chen said before her arrest, she sought the help of the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, but was declined refuge. Australia doesn't have a consulate in Chengdu.

Falun Gong was [...] outlawed by China in 1999. Since then, authorities have conducted a harsh crackdown of its practitioners.

Phone calls were unanswered Friday at public security bureaus in Chengdu. Many offices in China closed early Friday, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday Saturday.

An Australian Embassy spokesman confirmed Thursday that Chen was released, but said he had no information on why she was detained and couldn't confirm the length of her detention.

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