A group of Falun Gong practitioners today protested outside the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur today, urging for an end of alleged human rights abuses in China.

falun gong falun dafa kl china embassy protest 180408 01 The protest was timed to coincide with the Malaysian leg of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur next Monday. Beijing is the host city of the summer Olympics in August.

About 30 practitioners unfurled banners outside the Embassy and read out a statement condemning alleged abuses and persecution of the group.

They however said that they would not demonstrate during the relay.

An AP report quoted protest spokesperson Li Chiyue as saying that the group does not want the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games as a pretext to intensify its crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners.

"They don't want the true things that happen in China exposed," she said.

20-minute protest

Li said China was arresting an increasing number of Tibetans fighting for autonomy and followers of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that Beijing has banned as a dangerous cult.

falun gong falun dafa kl china embassy protest 180408 03 "We want them to improve their human rights as they promised before," said Li, a Chinese national who is studying in Malaysia.

The demonstrators - many of them Chinese expatriates - dispersed after about 20 minutes when the statement was given to an embassy official.

There were about 20 police officers and 10 riot police on standby.

Falun Gong is not banned in Malaysia and the group has some local practitioners.

The torch's relay through 19 cities has been marred by protests against China's crackdown on recent demonstrations in Tibet.