Taipei City mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized the Beijing government for suppressing the Falun Gong movement, marking the first time a well-known Taiwan political figure has spoken out over the matter.
Ma showed up at a gathering of more than 5,000 Falun Gong followers at the National Taiwan University stadium in Taipei yesterday.
The movement, which teaches breathing and meditation exercises based on a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist doctrines, is banned in China where its branded an evil cult.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma accused Beijing of violating the freedom of religion, saying that he "isn't afraid of offending any government or regime."
Ma called on China to rethink the diversity of Chinese culture and exercise tolerance.
Ma also said Taiwan's unification with China would be out of the question until Beijing clears the names of people persecuted during and after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of students.
Ma has been widely tipped as the KMT's presidential candidate in 2004 since his landslide victory in Taipei's mayoral election earlier this month.
Vice Minister of the Interior Hsu Ying-shen (
Chang Ching-hsi (
Chang said more than 500 Falun Gong practitioners have been killed since China began its crackdown on the movement more than three years ago.
Chang added that several hundred thousand Taiwanese are studying the breathing and meditation exercises taught by the group.
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