Taiwan accused over Falun Gong

Thousands of Falun Gong members have been arrested

By Damian Grammaticas in Hong Kong

China has accused Taiwan's Vice-president Annette Lu of using the Falun Gong spiritual movement to promote the island's independence.

The official Xinhua news agency ran the particularly bitter criticism of Annette Lu, whom it has labelled separatist and anti-China.

Annette Lu: Bitterly criticised

The latest attack alleges that some within Taiwan's administration are in league with Falun Gong, which is banned in China but legal on the nationalist island.

The commentary attempts to draw explicit links between the spiritual movement and the Taipei government.

China is running a virulent campaign against the meditation movement that it has outlawed as an evil cult.

Beijing also demonises those in Taiwan it believes are in favour of the island's independence.

China has in the past claimed that Falun Gong and what it terms foreign, anti-China forces are in league.

Now it is alleging the movement has received direct support from Miss Lu.

The Xinhua commentary said Miss Lu had lent credibility to Falun Gong by speaking at a conference organised by the movement in Taipei.

It asked why Taiwan - where freedom of religion is enshrined in law - had not banned Falun Gong.

While Beijing is attempting to eradicate the meditation movement and has sent dozens of its followers to prison or to labour camps for re-education, Taipei says it poses no threat.

Media attack

The commentary said some people in authority in Taiwan are doing nothing but trying to use Falun Gong for their own separatist purposes.

The official mainland media has attacked Taiwan's vice-president before.

Last year she was branded a sinner, a lunatic, a traitor and scum for saying that people in Taiwan and China should co-exist peacefully because they were close neighbours but distant relatives.

The Falun Gong movement claims to have a 100,000 followers in Taiwan and says its membership has grown rapidly since China banned it on the mainland.