Ruling politically motivated: group

A passer-by looks on at demonstrating Falun Gong followers in Hong Kong, yesterday, outside the Chinese government liaison office. PHOTO: AP

The Falun Gong spiritual group claimed yesterday that 16 followers convicted of causing an obstruction during a protest are being treated unfairly -- after a Hong Kong court failed for a full year to rule on their appeals.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Falun Gong spokeswoman Sharon Xu said in an interview. "It's not good for Hong Kong's image."

About Falun Gong followers staged a sit-in demonstration yesterday outside Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong -- near the scene of a protest that led to Hong Kong's first criminal charges against members of the meditation group banned as an "evil cult" in mainland China.

A magistrate convicted the 16 -- four Swiss, a New Zealander and 11 Hong Kong residents -- of creating a public obstruction during their demonstration against the mainland's deadly crackdown on Falun Gong. They claim hundreds have been killed there.

The group says its members were unfairly charged in the Hong Kong case, which it called a politically motivated measure to stifle its message.

The charges were minor and the defendants were only ordered to pay small fines. But the implications for free speech in Hong Kong could be significant, human rights activists say.

The Falun Gong followers said on appeal -- in a hearing a year ago -- that their protest had been a legal exercise of their constitutional rights. They had expected a ruling within a few weeks, but it has never come.

The group suspects that the politically sensitive nature of the case might have placed the judges under pressure, Xu said.

Chinese are trying to eradicate Falun Gong, which alarmed Beijing several years ago with its organizational abilities.

But it remains legal in Hong Kong and holds frequent protests here, creating an uncomfortable situation for the Chinese territory's government.

Falun Gong says the 16 practitioners deserve a ruling because they now have criminal convictions on their records.

Xu any unfair treatment is damaging to the "one country, two systems" arrangement set up when Britain returned this former colony to China in 1997, with guarantees of considerable autonomy -- including independent courts.