A group representing Malaysian Falun Gong members today called on the Chinese government to end its persecution against the movement's followers in China, including their detention and torture.

Malaysian Falun Dafa Research Centre (FDRC) spokesperson Gan Boon Soon said that since the Chinese government banned the Falun Gong movement in July 1999, 980 practitioners had been tortured to death; 6,000 have been unlawfully sentenced; several thousand have been forcibly sent to mental institutions and over 100,000 to labour camps.

"The FDRC, a legal entity in Malaysia, would like to appeal to the Chinese government to peacefully end to the brutal persecution of Falun Gong followers and unconditionally release those which have been detained," said Gan ( photo, centre ).

Gan was speaking to reporters after attempting to hand over a memorandum to the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Wang Chungui at the embassy premises at Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Gan and his colleagues were unable to meet with Wang and were instructed by embassy officials to place their memorandum in the embassy's postbox.

When asked by reporters why the FDRC had sent in the memorandum, Gan said it was a plea to 'stop human rights abuses in China'.

"We are here because the people in China cannot speak up," he said.

ROC registration

Falun Gong or Falun Dafa is a form of meditative exercise which practitioners claim promotes both physical ad mental health. The movement was founded in May 1992 in Northeast China by former soldier Li Hongzhi and claims to have over 100 million followers in 60 countries.

China clamped down heavily on the movement in 1999 alleging it was a threat to national security.

Gan said the FDRC in its memorandum also called upon the Chinese embassy in Malaysia to stop '... publishing and circulating reports and articles that aimed to defame the image of Falun Gong in Malaysia'.

"This is because the freedoms of association, expression and belief are enshrined in the Malaysian constitution and we as citizens of Malaysia have the freedom to practice our beliefs in Malaysia," said Gan

Asked on the number of Falun Gong practitioners in Malaysia, Gan said that there were over a hundred in Malaysia.

"We registered with the Registrar Of Companies (ROC) last year," he said adding that attempts to register the FDRC under the Registrar of Societies had failed.

In January this year, the group had been warned by the then deputy home affairs minister Chor Chee Heung to stop '... interfering in China's affairs or face the consequences.'

Chor added that the government was closely monitoring the movement here as it could serve as a 'launchpad to go against the Chinese government'.

Diplomatic pressure

In related matter, MCA public services and complaint department head Michael Chong today said that the MCA did not have any ties with the FDRC.

The Malay Mail reported him as saying that the authorities should investigate the group as he alleged that it was not registered with the ROC as claimed.

According to international rights groups Human Rights Watch (HRW), in China alone, Falun Gong practitioners number around 70 million, amongst them labourers, professionals and even Chinese Communist Party leaders.

However, Falun Gong followers around the world have faced obstacles and difficulties in associating with the movement due to the diplomatic pressure exerted by the Chinese government.

HRW's report says besides being harassed by police and local authorities, Falun Gong practitioners are also prohibited from holding demonstrations in front of Chinese embassies in their countries to protest the Chinese government's crackdown on the movement in China.