WORLD : Chinese Shrug Off Counter Rally
BEIJING — Burned effigies of China’s most famous dissident and slogans supporting Premier Li Peng failed today to fire up the 4,000 people attending the first government-sponsored rally in six weeks of political turmoil.
Many participants said officials told them to attend the rally, the latest effort by conservatives to discredit the pro-democracy student movement and consolidate their position in a power struggle with moderates.
Effigies of astrophysicist Fang Lizhi, an outspoken dissident who has campaigned for democracy, were torched at the rally at a stadium in Daxing county, about 20 miles south of central Beijing.
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