China arrests two for group suicide attempt

BEIJING, China -- China has arrested two alleged members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement for planning self-immolations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

State media reports say the two men were arrested in the central city of Kaifeng on Saturday. They were accused of planning the group suicide attempt, which left one woman dead and four people badly injured.

One of the men, Liu Yun, had planned to set himself on fire, but he was stopped by police on the square. The other man, Xue Hongjun, was not at the square, but officials say he helped the group before they left Kaifeng.

A third man, Wang Jindong, has also been classified as a "criminal suspect" for organizing the protest. He's still in the hospital being treated for the suicide attempt.

The group suicide attempt was staged by alleged Falun Gong members on January 23.

Chinese television reports say the men were inspired by exiled Falun Gong founder Li Hongzi. The arrests were announced on the same day the Standing Committee of the nations' top lawmaking body ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

It also comes a day after China's cabinet defended criticism from both the United States and the United Nations for its human rights record.

Officials have defended their crackdown on the Falun Gong by calling the group a cult "which does as much harm to its practitioners, especially the devout ones, as drugs."

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson had criticized China's use of labor camps to re-educate alleged drug users, prostitutes and Falun Gong members.

Liu Jing, the head of a new cabinet-level anti-cult office, said Robinson didn't understand the dangers of Falun Gong, and the United States was using the issue to interfere in China's internal affairs.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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