China pursued its crackdown against the Falungong sect yesterday as the government appeared ready to take legal action against thousands of sect members rounded up last week.
The police presence around Tiananmen Square and the Communist party headquarters of Zhongnanhai in central Beijing remained tight.
Officers questioned pedestrians and checked identity papers in the sweltering 38C heat. Some were seen beating a woman near the square and dragging her to a police van.
At Beijing railway station, police in vans and cars watched for any suspected Falungong activists entering the capital. Rail officials said similar police checks were being carried out at stations across the country.
Tens of thousands of followers were rounded up last week as they tried to protest at the ban - introduced on Thursday - in Beijing and cities around China, with many sent back to their homes in outlying regions, officials said.
Mr Li Baoku, Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs, vowed to prosecute the "small number" of ringleaders of the group, adding the "overwhelming" numbers of ordinary Falungong followers would have to admit their mistakes and repent.
The Falungong sect mixes Buddhist and Taoist beliefs with meditation and deep breathing exercises and advocates high moral standards and clean living.
The crackdown is seen as reflecting growing concerns in China's communist leadership at the electronic organisational methods and size of the group, which members say is up to 100 million-strong worldwide.
In New York, the Falungong leader, Mr Li Hongzhi, expressed concern that the crackdown could develop into something similar to the 1989 crushing of democracy protests on Tiananmen Square or a Cultural Revolution-like "mass movement".
"The Chinese government is overreacting . . . It's like the second Cultural Revolution," Mr Li told Cable News Network (CNN), condemning China's outlawing of the sect.