A Shanghai 610 Office Manual Reveals the Severity of the Persecution of Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Minghui.org recently received a manual from the Shanghai 610 Office that describes how to “transform” Falun Gong practitioners (force them to renounce their belief). Published sometime between 2000 and 2010, the manual was distributed to businesses and institutions to instruct them on how to implement the persecution policy targeting Falun Gong.

The manual focused on how to brainwash practitioners based on their individual situations at different stages in the process of “transforming” them. The detailed instructions and comprehensive coverage are astonishing.

 

1. Secret Cruelty

The word “confidential” is printed on the book’s cover page. On the first page, the “Instruction for Use” section begins: “This manual is considered confidential material and it is maintained by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee at the street/township level or higher. Strict confidentiality discipline will be followed to prevent leakage.”

Plainly, the suppression of Falun Gong is illegal, and its vicious methods are supposed to remain secret. After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the CCP launched media campaigns of hate propaganda to defame Falun Gong. The propaganda campaign did turn the Chinese public against Falun Gong, but the officials themselves knew very well that the persecution was groundless and unconscionable.

Created by the former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, the 610 Office itself is an extra-legal police task force. If the suppression of Falun Gong is indeed legitimate as the CCP’s news media has claimed, this campaign could be made public. Such a high degree of confidentiality and strict disciplinary measures for compromising that confidentiality indicate that the CCP is scared of its dark secrets coming to light.

Details in the manual also show how cruel this persecution is. Because everything is carried out secretly, outsiders, including both officials in other government agencies and ordinary citizens, do not know what horrible things the practitioners are subjected to once they are arrested. Due to the strict censorship, this suppression has been extremely cruel, and justice has still not been served.

 

2. Targeting All Falun Gong Practitioners

The “Instructions for Use” section of the manual states in its second item: “Everyone will have a copy [of the manual].” This suggests that the material aims to target all Falun Gong practitioners, not just some of them.

Before the CCP started to officially suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, Chinese authorities estimated that there were between 70 to 100 million practitioners in China. Although this manual was a regional publication in Shanghai, it is part of the systematic implementation of the persecution policy from the Central 610 Office. It is reasonable to believe that other areas have been issued similar measures and, collectively, this persecution targets all Falun Gong practitioners in China.

 

3. Detailed Instructions

Detailed instructions described in the manual on how to “transform” (brainwash) Falun Gong practitioners are astonishing.

It starts with the documentation of the personal information of the staff members on the “transforming” team, followed by detailed information on the practitioners to be “transformed,” including “personal character traits” as well as “family members and their attitude toward Falun Gong.” It also lists previous brainwashing sessions they’ve been forced to attend or other “punishment” they’ve been subjected to.

Further categories follow, such as “Transformation plan,” “Progress record,” “Control and prevention,” “Quarterly update,” “Annual review,” “Follow-up planning after release,” “Follow-up record after release,” “Record of repeated situations,” and so on. Each category is broken down further into a situation statement, description, actions taken, and a plan for the next step.

The manual also provides comprehensive instructions on how to continue the persecution after the practitioners are released from prison or the brainwashing centre.

From the manual: “After they are released, every day they must fill in the ‘Follow-up plan after release.’ If they have not yet been transformed, their situation will be documented in the ‘Progress record.’ Those who have been transformed will be documented in the ‘Follow-up record after release.’ Regardless of their status, the ‘Quarterly update’ and ‘Annual review’ are required.”

“After practitioners are transformed and meet the criteria, their cases will be reported level by level. Upon approval, their daily activities will be documented in the ‘Follow-up record after release.’ If needed, the ‘Record of repeated situations’ will be used and ‘Follow-up record after release’ will be re-initiated for active transformation.”

Based on these descriptions, as long as a person is identified as a Falun Gong practitioner, he or she will be subject to continued control by the authorities. This goes beyond their release after detention. Even those who have been confirmed “transformed” by the 610 Office are still under constant monitoring. This suggests that the persecution is about comprehensive and constant mental control.

Furthermore, it appears from this manual that the intent of the suppression is not only to defame Falun Gong and incite the general public to hate it but also aims to provoke the general public to participate in this systematic crime.

As mentioned above, when the persecution started in July 1999, there was a large population of Falun Gong practitioners from all walks of life. By connecting these government agencies and institutions with their involvement in the persecution, the CCP has been forcing these employers and their officials to target Falun Gong. For example, when a practitioner goes to Beijing to appeal or is arrested for their belief, the other employees where the practitioner works might have their bonuses canceled. This gigantic network involves the entire society in this systematic and sinister crime.

 

4. Insidious Methods

Page 2 of the manual lists the criteria for “successful” transformation: The person must stop doing the Falun Gong exercises, turn in their books, and denounce Falun Gong in public. That is, he or she must attack Falun Gong in forums, seminars, or news media reports. The goal is to completely separate the person from the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. When a person does this, even if against his or her conscience, it is all but impossible to recover. This persecution of faith is unforgivable and does not bode well for the future of this society.

Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. As it says in the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: “Jiang lacks both ability and moral integrity. Without a finely tuned machine of violence like the CCP, which is based on slaughter and lies, he would never have been capable of launching this genocide, a genocide that is widespread throughout China and even penetrates its borders.

“Similarly, the CCP would not have easily gone against the current of historic trends and the environment created by the Party’s economic reforms and attempts to engage with the world, which were in full swing at the time. Only a stubborn, self-serving dictator like Jiang who was determined to have his way could have ordered such a reversal.”

In summary, this manual provides a glimpse of the insidiousness of the persecution. It is important for the world to recognise this massive suppression and its devastating harm to mankind.