One foreigner arrested on anniversary of Falun Gong founding

BEIJING -- The French computer engineer sent a final e-mail to friends back home, then headed to Tiananmen Square. Seconds after pulling out a banner and shouting his support for the Falun Gong movement, police bundled him into a van.

The man, identified as 34-year-old Martial Bachoffner, was the only known Falun Gong follower arrested in China on Monday -- the 10th anniversary of the meditation sect's founding -- for protesting the ban on the group.

The day's low-key passing in Beijing seemed to show how much the Communist Party's relentless pursuit of the group has decimated its public membership and willingness to protest openly.

In the first years after Falun Gong was banned in July 1999, May 13 brought dozens of protesters to Tiananmen Square. They were assaulted by police and quickly detained.

The date marks the birthday of Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi and the day he began the group in 1992. Chinese officials say records show that Li was actually born on July 7, 1952, and accuse him of changing his birth date to add to his mystique.

Falun Gong drew millions of followers with its slow-motion exercises and doctrines drawn from oriental philosophy and Li's own unorthodox teachings. Li, a former Chinese government clerk, now lives in the United States.

Thousands of followers have been detained in the frequently brutal crackdown, and supporters abroad say at least 400 have been killed. Authorities deny mistreating anyone, but say some detainees have died on hunger strikes. Chinese members have since shifted to underground agitation, spreading their message by Internet and fliers posted in secret.