Marriott Pulls Banned ‘Books’ From China Hotel to Avert Backlash
- Mock versions of Falun Gong book displayed in Chinese hotel
- Company earlier apologized over Tibet treatment on website
Supporters of Falun Gong during a demonstration in London.
Photographer: Richard Baker/Corbis News via Getty Images
Marriott International Inc., which apologized to China last week over perceived political slights on its website, has removed from a local hotel decorative copies of a book that alleges government abuse of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group.
As recently as Sunday, hollow, cardboard copies of “Bloody Harvest: the Killing of Falun Gong for Their Organs” appeared on bookshelves in the lounge of the Element by Westin hotel in Chongli, a ski area about three hours northwest of the Chinese capital that is being developed as an Olympics site. China branded the Falun Gong an “evil cult” in 1999 after about 10,000 followers surrounded the Communist Party headquarters in Beijing in a silent protest.