CHINA EXPELS CANADIAN LEGISLATORS

China expelled three Canadian members of parliament Jan. 7 for meeting relatives of detained dissidents and calling for the release of political prisoners.

The Canadians said on arrival in Hong Kong that they were "manhandled" and "thrown into a bus" before being driven to Beijing's international airport. Svend Robinson, the group spokesman, called the treatment "an outrage." He said the group was headed to a Beijing jail, where dissident Chen Ziming is held, when the bus was diverted.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official said the group was "engaging in activities incompatible with their status in China."