Exposing the National Security Ministry's Crimes in the Persecution of Falun Dafa

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioners in China have been revealing the illegal conduct of Jiang Zemin and his top aides and the crimes they have committed in persecuting Falun Dafa over the past five-plus years. However, not many of the crimes committed by the staff of the National Security Ministry [which is similar to the secret police] and its subordinate offices have been revealed. The only exceptions are some of the illegal activities of the special agents as they dealt with overseas practitioners who came to China. It is not that the officers in the National Security Ministry haven't committed crimes against Falun Dafa; rather, the methods they use are more covert and so haven't been as widely exposed or reported. In addition, the lack of information is also due to the fact that there are some people who have the attachment of fear and dare not expose the illegal conduct of the ministry.

As a matter of fact, the National Security Ministry and affiliated offices play an important role, being one of the major tools used to carry out the persecution. The destruction of sites where Dafa truth-clarification materials are printed and the arrest of many steadfast practitioners have occurred because of the activities of the special agents of the National Security Ministry.

From 1992, when Falun Dafa was first introduced to the public, to 1999, when the persecution began, the National Security Ministry and the affiliate systems established their network of offices along coastal areas, provincial borders, and in prefectures. By the end of the 90's, offices and bureaus had been set up in all provinces, large cities, and autonomous regions. Ever since it was established, the National Security Ministry has followed the mandate of monitoring the activities of various qigong practices and reporting to particular offices in the nine ministries and commissions of the Chinese Government. At that time, the whole country hadn't been opened up yet, especially the more remote inland areas. Therefore, there were not many cases for the National Security Ministry to investigate, and its agents had little to do. When the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, Falun Gong became the major focus of the security organizations on all levels. As one superintendent of the newly established security bureau said, "We used to be a group of people with nothing to do but worry about preparing our annual report to the supervisor. All of a sudden, along came Falun Gong and we put all of our efforts into the persecution."

On April 25, 1999, over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners appealed to the State Council Appeals office, adjacent the Zhongnanhai government compound to ask government leaders to stop harassing Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin personally met with the Ministers of Public Security and National Security after the incident, and criticized them for not knowing that this would happen beforehand and for failing to cooperate well with each other. He demanded that the two ministries should not be bound by the convention that the Ministry of Public Security handles domestic affairs while the Ministry of National Security handles foreign affairs. They were both required to take up the responsibility of dealing with Falun Gong.

In the foreign affairs organizations affiliated with the National Security Ministry, offices have been set up to carry out assassinations in other countries. Therefore, the rumors of attempts to murder the founder of Falun Gong at the beginning of the persecution were not unfounded. When Zeng Qinghong (Vice President of China) visited South Africa in August 2004, several Australian practitioners, in South Africa at the same time, were attacked by a gunman. This incident appears to have been a carefully planned attack on Falun Gong.

The Party (CCP) has executed dissidents since its foundation. Ever since the persecution of Falun Gong started, the National Security Ministry has sent a large number of special agents overseas. Extending the persecution outside of China's borders is the responsibility of the National Security Ministry. One of their major tasks is collecting information on the alleged relationship between Falun Gong and Western anti-China forces and supposed related financial support (1). Later, the National Security Ministry was instructed to use all methods at their disposal to persecute Falun Gong, without restriction. They increased funds and the budget for bonuses, obtained new equipment, reinforced the regulations for submitting reports, and set up new regulations specifically targeting Falun Gong. They used methods such as secretly following practitioners around, wire-tapping telephones, surveillance based on cell phone locations, intercepting personal mail, secretly filming practitioners, and collecting personal information about practitioners and their friends and relatives. They built a database with the collected information, collecting telephone numbers, checking telephone records at the Communications Department, and using former Falun Gong practitioners as informers (2). They tried to destroy Dafa truth-clarification materials printing sites, and have arrested practitioners. They also assigned people to research articles on Clearwisdom and other Falun Dafa websites, to track the activities of the practitioners and come up with methods for sabotaging them.

Because of the rapid progression of the Fa-rectification, and practitioners inside and outside of China clarifying the fact about Falun Gong, Jiang's faction has felt increasing international pressure and opposition to the persecution. Yet they are reluctant to admit that they have failed to eradicate Falun Gong. Instead, they changed tactics by stressing a policy of appearing "loose at the surface, but tight underneath." They keep a low profile in diplomacy and propaganda. Yet, they haven't slacked off a bit in the persecution. They strengthened the invisible frontline, namely the National Security Ministry in the persecution of Falun Gong. In order to meet the requirements of the persecution, the security organizations on all levels have increased staff in the "610 Offices" and actively participated in the persecution. In recent years, they adjusted the interior structure of the National Security Ministry and added the Section of Social Stability Maintenance. Information centers have been set up in the grass-roots bureaus. The technology of investigations used to belong to the Technical Detection Office, but it was made into a separate department that is tightly controlled by higher authorities. The reorganization was implemented to further persecute Falun Gong.

In the first half of this year, practitioners working in the National Security Ministry were arrested for just talking about the true nature of Falun Gong. The National Security Ministry then issued a notice to its offices around the country, demanding examination and "cleansing" of the people working in the system. They stressed that the police should be absolutely loyal to the ruling Party and follow the wishes of Jiang Zemin.

One cannot underestimate the role of the special agents of the National Security Ministry in carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong. Take as an example the destruction of a truth-clarification materials printing site in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province on July 30, 2002. The National Security Ministry, by using telephone numbers they obtained from this site, discovered many printing sites in several cities and counties in Liaoning Province and neighboring provinces. Around the time of the Chinese New Year in 2003, under the direction of the National Security Provincial Department in Liaoning Province, the police destroyed dozens of Falun Gong printing sites. Many practitioners were arrested. It was a severe loss. The police called it the "7.30 (July 30) Case."

The destruction of many truth-clarification materials printing sites in different locations this year is also related to the activities of the National Security Ministry. The main difference between the activities of the National Security and the Public Security departments is that the police in the Public Security Department openly arrest any practitioner they discover and get information through interrogation. Their actions are fully exposed. The police from the National Security Department, however, put efforts in destroying the printing sites. When they get information, they do not immediately take action. Instead, they use covert methods to monitor and follow practitioners, attempting to obtain even more information. They keep a low profile and wait for the opportunity to strike at several targets at the same time. When taking action, they often ask the police from the Public Security system to carry out the arrests rather than risk exposing themselves. They will not touch the people who can potentially lead them to new information. They keep them under surveillance or arrest them secretly and then bribe or coerce the arrested practitioners into working for them.

Here we suggest that practitioners collect details about the crimes committed by the agents in the National Security Ministry and fully expose their conduct. What this group fears most is being exposed.

1. Falun Dafa is completely non-political and has no ties with foreign governments or anti-China groups, nor does it receive funding from any outside groups.
2. Informer or collaborators are former Falun Gong practitioners who have renounced the practice as a result of intense pressure from brainwashing and torture.

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