(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never stopped its persecution of Falun Gong since it launched a nationwide campaign against the peaceful spiritual practice on July 20, 1999. As the 25th anniversary of the persecution approaches, the Ministry of Public Security held a virtual meeting at the end of December 2023 and ordered a new round of crackdowns on “cults.”

While the order did not explicitly mention Falun Gong, it was understood that the real target was Falun Gong practitioners. No law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult, but the communist regime has been using the cult label to justify its persecution of the practice and mislead the general public.

The Political and Legal Affairs Committees and the 610 Offices across China, both extra-judicial agencies, were given power to override the judicial and law enforcement systems, and led local governments and police to demonize Falun Gong in this new round of propaganda campaign. The tactics used included offering rewards to those who report Falun Gong practitioners, require people to take part in signature drives defaming Falun Gong or write pledges to not engage in cult activities, post anti-Falun Gong messages on WeChat (a popular instant messaging and social media platform), and to display anti-Falun Gong propaganda on bulletin boards.

Below are some examples.

Xiangtan City, Hunan Province

On February 28, 2024, the Xiangtan City Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Xiangtan City Police Department jointly posted a message in multiple channels on WeChat. The message called for the general public to report practitioners of “evil cults,” including Falun Gong. Tipsters were promised a 500-4,000 yuan reward for each practitioner reported.

The Xiangtan City Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Xiangtan City Police Department also instructed all street committees within the city to re-post the same message in their own WeChat channels once every month. The three major telecommunication companies, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, also received notices to text their users the same message on a regular basis.

Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia

In March 2024, three agencies in Yuanbaoshan District, Chifeng City, including the 610 Office, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and the police department, jointly issued a notice calling for the public to report Falun Gong practitioners and promised rewards to tipsters. Street committees in the district soon followed up by posting the notice in their WeChat channels or on bulletin boards.

In mid-April 2024, the China Pingmei Shenma Holding Group Co. Ltd in Chifeng City ordered all its employees to sign a pledge promising to not take part in “feudal,” “superstitious,” or anti-Marxist activities. The workers must also state their full names and IDs on the pledge. Those who refused to sign were threatened with job termination.

While the pledge did not explicitly mention Falun Gong, it was clear the authorities were targeting Falun Gong.

Hebei Province

The Hebei Province Public Security Bureau dispatched agents to a certain county on April 15, 2024. Under their directive, the county police department displayed a bulletin board in the downtown area. The bulletin board was filled with propaganda defaming Falun Gong. Two police cruisers parked nearby monitored the bulletin board and those who read it.

Jingzhou City and Wuhan City, Hubei Province

A grid manager in Jingzhou City recently posted on WeChat “A Feature Article on the 25th Anniversary of the Crackdown on Falun Gong.” [Note: China’s grid-style social management system involves dividing each county into smaller zones (or grids) and tasking the grid managers with monitoring citizens and reporting suspicious activities to local governments on a regular basis.]

Another grid manager in Wuhan City posted an anti-Falun Gong message from the anti-cult association’s WeChat account and called for locals to sign anti-Falun Gong statements.

Jilin City, Jilin Province

On April 17, 2024, the Jilin City authorities ordered all residential areas to post a notice in every apartment building. The notice called for residents to report practitioners of evil cults and promised as much as 5,000 yuan in reward money. Street committees across the city were also instructed to launch an online signature drive on the same day, requesting residents to sign Falun Gong-defaming statements.

The High-tech Zone in Jilin City recently issued a notice on reporting illegal and criminal cult activities. Upon receiving the notice, the grid managers relayed it to residential areas, which in turn blasted it to residents through their WeChat channels.

Anshan City, Liaoning Province

The Tiedong District in Anshan City recently posted a link in the street committees’ channels on WeChat. The link directed residents to a signature drive page which slanders Falun Gong.

Yantai City, Shandong Province

Every residential area in Yantai City has its WeChat channel. More than 90% of residents subscribe to these channels. In the past few weeks, the street committees’ WeChat channels have been filled with anti-Falun Gong articles, each of which linked to even more slanderous articles.

The street committees are under the administration of the Yantai City Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Quyang County, Hebei Province

The police stations across Quyang County recently issued a notice ordering all schools to launch a signature drive campaign to defame Falun Gong. The Xinzhuang Elementary School, the Central School, the Jiahe Elementary School, the Chengdongwang Kindergarten, the Chengdongwang Elementary School are a few schools confirmed to have started the campaign.

Heilongjiang Province

Some building managers in various residential areas in Heilongjiang Province recently posted anti-Falun Gong messages or articles in their WeChat channels.