China to try at least 300 Falun Gong adherents

They include five government officials in Hebei accused of leaking state secrets when they divulged to Falun Gong followers the details of classified documents concerning the official crackdown on the movement.

Authorities have continued to prevent detained adherents from finding lawyers ahead of their trials, the Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.

Police here, meanwhile, refused to comment on reports of further detentions on Wednesday of several Falun Gong adherents who had protested in Tiananmen Square.

Eyewitnesses reported on Tuesday that police used violence to detain more than 30 Falun Gong practitioners who unfurled a red banner on the giant plaza during the visit by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Annan left China on Wednesday following a lengthy meeting with foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan. Annan said that Tang had assured him that human rights were being respected amid the escalating crackdown on Falun Gong.