By BECKY DAVIS AUGUST 5, 2014 4:13 AM August 5, 2014 11:07 am
Police officers on July 29 searching a house that some of Wu Zeheng’s followers had rented for the summer to be near his residence in Zhuhai.Credit Hua Xin
The authorities in the southern province of Guangdong have moved against a Buddhist sect whose spiritual leader has cultivated a growing cadre of followers both inside China and abroad.
Mr. Wu in 2010, after his release from prison.Credit Family photo, Wu Fang
Wu Zeheng, a Buddhist master who has long been at odds with the government, was taken into police custody last week after the police staged a coordinated raid on a number of businesses and living compounds run by his group, Huazang Dharma.
Nearly 50 people, 20 of them children, were detained during the raids, according to the group’s followers. While the majority have been released in recent days, Mr. Wu and 18 others are still being held at various detention centers around the coastal city of Zhuhai.