Police Sweep Square of Protesting Sect

Members of the outlawed Falun Gong sect staged a brief but large protest in Tiananmen Square, scattering leaflets and raising banners before Chinese police violently ended the demonstration. Plainclothes police in groups of 10 or more pounced on small bands of sect members spread throughout the plaza in central Beijing. The officers pummeled and shoved protesters into vans. At least 100 people were taken away. One witness saw 30 police vans filled with protesters driving off the square, which may mean that the number detained could exceed several hundred.