Hong Kong charges 16 members of Falun Gong

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong authorities took their first legal action against Falun Gong followers on Friday, filing charges accusing 16 sect members of obstruction during a protest outside China's liaison office that ended in a scuffle with police.

The charges have set off a debate over whether the government is trying to silence the meditation sect and erode Hong Kong's freedoms, as members and civil rights activists fear, or if it just having police enforce the law against overzealous demonstrators, as the government says.

The move follows months of maneuvering between Hong Kong's government and Falun Gong. Falun Gong members are free to practice and protest in Hong Kong, but are outlawed and subject to a brutal crackdown in China, where they are seen as a threat to Communist Party rule.

Sect supporters accuse Hong Kong of acting under pressure from China to crack down on the group. Hong Kong denies the charge, even though it has gradually adopted language similar to Beijing's, calling Falun Gong a "cult" that bears close scrutiny.

On Thursday, four Swiss followers began a protest outside the front door of the Chinese government office here, refusing food and ignoring repeated police orders that they move a few steps away to the side of the building.

The Chinese office made several obstruction complaints.

When police finally decided to remove the protesters, 12 local Falun Gong followers created a circle to shield the Swiss, leading to a shoving and shouting match.

Police on Friday filed two counts of obstruction against the Falun Gong practitioners. The first count carries up to three months in jail and a fine of $64. The second carries up to three months and a $640 fine.