(Clearwisdom.net) On August 6, several protests by Westerners occurred in Beijing. On August 7, the day before the opening of the Olympics, three Americans protested against the suppression of religion in China on Tiananmen Square. They also appealed for Falun Gong practitioners. Later, they were taken away by Chinese plain-clothes police.

American protester Patrick Mahoney is the chair of the Christian Defense Coalition

The Chinese police are trying to keep media from taking photos of the protesters by blocking them with umbrellas.

According to reports by NTDTV, three American Christians held a press conference in front of the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall on Tiananmen Square on August 7, the day before the opening of the Olympics. As they were praying, the Chinese plainclothes police showed up and took away their microphones. The police tried to block the media's cameras with umbrellas.

Patrick Mahoney, the chair of the Christian Defense Coalition, said to a group of Western reporters that they came to Tiananmen Square to call upon people to protest the human rights abuses in China. They came to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves and for those who are being jailed because of their religious beliefs, and they came here to appeal for Falun Gong practitioners.

On the same day, eight Christians from The Netherlands sang songs on Tiananmen Square, but they were driven away by the Chinese police. The Christians passed out balloons to people. They expressed that their purpose was to pass happiness to people, but they did not expect that the police would not allow them to do so.

According to local citizens, tourists can still take photos on Tiananmen Square, but everybody can sense the intense and depressed atmosphere. The police can be seen everywhere and they search everybody's belongings.