HONG KONG -- As Beijing cracks down on protestors in Tibet in the run up to the Olympics, adherents of Falun Gong -- a banned religious movement that draws from Buddhism and Taoism -- are also facing the heavy hand of the Communist regime. Falun Gong members claim Chinese authorities are stepping up their crackdown on the group, branded an "evil cult" by Beijing, by using Olympic security as an "excuse." In early March, the U.S.-based Falun Dafa Information Center announced that 1,878 practitioners from 29 provinces had been arrested since January 2008 and that cash rewards of up to $360 were being offered by the government to identify members.
Ahead of Olympics, Beijing Crackdown Extends to Falun Gong Followers
