On November 1, China passed a law which opens the way...

On November 1, China passed a law which opens the way for the death penalty for the leaders of the banned Falun Gong group -a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and qiqong, which is designed to harness inner energy and heal. It was reported that police had hauled away several dozen protesters from Tiananmen Square the week before. The group stunned China's leadership on April 25, when more than 10,000 members emerged from nowhere to sit silently outside the leadership's Zhongnanhai compound to demand official recognition of their faith. By a unanimous vote, the 114 members of the executive council of the National People's Congress passed a law saying that the sect's leaders may be prosecuted for murder and endangering China's security, crimes which carry the death penalty.