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Article: China flexes authoritarian muscle; Four Falun Gong leaders were tried over the weekend and sentenced to.(World)(Religion)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- December 28, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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China's Communist leaders are trying to use show trials and harsh sentences meted out to leaders of the Falun Gong spiritual movement to warn a range of political and religious groups not to challenge the party's authority.
But this strategy could backfire, says a Western official.
"The [Chinese] government might succeed in driving many religious and political activists underground, but die-hards could be driven to organize a new wave of protests" against the repression, adds the official, who asked not to be identified.
Beijing abruptly announced on Christmas Eve that four Falun Gong leaders would be tried two days later, and the rushed, ...