He was also concerned at Iceland's attitude towards the Falun Gong.

The most worrying factor, in his view, was that the list of Falun Gong members had been circulated.

In his view, Iceland's response to the Falun Gong incident was an upsetting precedent.

After the visit, Icelandic authorities had destroyed all but one copy of the list of banned Falun Gong members.

An observer for Interfaith International told about a family member who was in jail in China for practising Falon Gung.

And aside from fur wearing Gong Li (or Leo, on a recent stop in Hong Kong), few stars in China have become known for their green choices.

Thus, the Ministry of Justice had forwarded to Icelandair a list of Falun Gong members who had booked flights to Iceland but could be expected to be denied entry into the country.

They had also learned from police sources elsewhere in Europe that, even in peaceful demonstrations, Falun Gong members had been known to push or rush through police lines.

Moreover, while the Falun Gong must of course obey the law once inside the country, Iceland could not simply assume that they would disrupt the peace before they had even arrived.

In talks with Falun Gong members who had arrived in Iceland the week before the visit, Icelandic authorities had learned that some members did not intend to comply with police instructions to stay in defined protest areas.

Ms. Árnadóttir (Iceland) said that freedom of religion had not been at issue in the Falun Gong case but rather the maintenance of public order by a small police force that was not backed up by an army or military reserve force.

The Icelandic authorities had believed they were minimizing the harmful consequences of their decision by instructing Icelandair to warn certain Falun Gong members that they would be denied entry into the country and that there was no point in purchasing an airline ticket.