Who are the Falun Gong who were arrested in Tiananmen Square in China this week

asks Jarnold:
A. April 25 was the second anniversary of the Falun Gong's first demonstration. On that occasion, 10,000 protesters assembled for a silent sit-in outside the communist leadership compound in Beijing. In this apparently surreal demonstration, more than a mile of pavements were lined with still and silent protesters. It was the boldest public demonstration in Beijing since the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement�ten years previously.

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Q. What were the Falun Gong protesting about
A. They were demanding legal recognition and the right to practise 'Falun Gong' without interference. Falun Gong, which claims to have 60 million practitioners across China, was founded by Qigong martial arts master, Li Hongzhi, in 1992. Falun Gong combines slow exercises and meditation with a blend of Eastern philosophies to harness qi, or vital energy. In the late 1990s, it was widely and openly practised in Chinese parks.

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Q. What's the problem with that
A. The Communist Party in China is fighting a growing wave of superstition and religious fervour. It fears superstition is gaining ground over 'the scientific world outlook of Marxism', and is damaging the work of the party, according to its official newspaper. Falun Gong is anti-science and anti-modern society.

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Q. So the first demonstration didn't go down too well, then
A. No. Falun Gong was declared an 'evil sect' and banned in July 1999. The state media then set about destroying its reputation. Even schoolchildren have been indoctrinated against them with compulsive anti-Falun Gong classes.

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Q. What did the Falun Gong practitioners do
A. They kept demonstrating with small silent acts of civil disobedience on Tiananmen Square almost daily: one or two members would strike a pose which indicated they were Falun Gong and were promptly arrested. Then in January this year it got more extreme when five members - including a child - set themselves on fire on the square. The government used this to show that they were extremists.

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Q. What happened at this latest protest
A. Police arrested at least 32 protesters who adopted the typical Falun Gong meditative pose or held banners which read 'Falun Gong Is Good.' Foreign tourists who watched the event were forced to expose film in their cameras and record over video tape.

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Q. What's the future for Falun Gong
A. After 20 months of a government crackdown, up to 10,000�members are in labour camps, according to human rights groups, and more than 100 are reported to have died in custody. However, it's not known what goes on behind closed doors: members practice secretly at home, but they face losing their jobs or being detained by the police if caught.

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By Sheena Miller