Five individuals who disrupted a Falun Gong conference in Hong Kong last month by calling in a bomb scare have been arrested recently, reports the South China Morning Post.
The newspaper, the largest English-language paper in the city, cited sources saying that some of the individuals involved were suspected to be members of organized crime, and that they were likely “hired by an undisclosed party,” to the tune of several thousand dollars, to derail the conference.
The bomb scare—caused after an anonymous call was made to the police—caused over 1,600 guests to be evacuated from the BP International hotel on Jan. 17. About 1,200 were practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that has been persecuted in mainland China since 1999.
Practitioners of Falun Gong meet for conferences typically once a year in their local region, in which they share their experiences in the self-improvement practice. Speakers typically discuss their progress in following the practice’s principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and reflect on how they can continue to improve their personal conduct and character.
