Dozens of followers of the Falun Gong spiritual group marched Wednesday to Hong Kong's government headquarters, urging the territory's leader to lobby Beijing to release four local practitioners jailed in China, the protesters said.
Three of the jailed [practitioners] were caught in the mainland with materials about the group, while the other was sentenced for trying to sue former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, said Falun Gong Hong Kong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung. They are serving jail terms ranging from three to five years, he said.
Wearing their trademark yellow T-shirts, about 50 [practitioners] marched peacefully from a downtown park to the government offices, where they delivered a letter asking Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa to help secure their colleagues' freedom, Kan said.
Tung spokeswoman Florence Wong had no immediate comment. Police spokeswoman Suzanne Lee said only about 28 people protested.
Falun Gong is banned in the mainland [...] but it is allowed in Hong Kong, a former British colony that enjoys Western-style civil liberties under Chinese rule.
Kan accused Jiang of acting out of "jealousy and fear" of Falun Gong's huge following, even though he claimed the group had no political aspirations and posed no threat to authorities. Source: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041103/ap/d864bgcg1.html
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