South Korean MPs protest as China breaks up meeting

South Korean lawmakers found out for themselves the limits of political freedom in China on Wednesday when men believed to be Chinese state security officials shut down their planned news conference. The lawmakers had called the news conference to publicise the issue of North Korean refugees who have reached China and who rights groups say are often sent back if they are caught by authorities or fail to push their way into a foreign embassy.
"We have nothing to hide, turn on the lights. Identify yourselves," said one of the lawmakers, Bae Il-do. "This amounts to an illegal detainment."
At least five Chinese men, who appeared to be state security agents dressed in plainclothes but who declined to identify themselves, turned off the lights in the hotel conference room and began shouting and shoving people through the doors.
A photographer from The Associated Press was hit on the head, and several others were pushed and shoved by the men who said they did not need to inform anyone who they were.
Politically sensitive meetings are routinely shut down by China's ruling Communist Party, which censors criticism and blocks freedom of assembly.
The lawmakers, who said they had been on a fact-finding mission to investigate the situation of North Korean refugees, visited border areas and also called for the release of Choi Young-hoon, a South Korean they say was imprisoned in China for helping the asylum seekers.
Chinese authorities may have feared criticism of China's treatment of North Korean refugees, tens of thousands of whom are thought to be living covertly in China.
Diplomats from the South Korean embassy arrived to try to sort out the stand-off but were not allowed into the room.
"We are not happy," said one embassy official.
Inside, the Chinese men were filming and taking pictures but continued to prevent the meeting from proceeding even after the power was restored.
Wednesday's meeting was publicised by Douglas Shin, a South Korean pastor and activist who leads a group helping North Korean refugees and who is thought to have helped several seek asylum at foreign embassies in Beijing.