Jinan Residents Harassed with Bulk Text Messages from “Above”

Residents of Jinan, Shandong Province, received bulk text messages on April 25th, May 1st, and May 13th, 2014, from the Jinan 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and Office of City Security. The messages slandered Falun Gong and urged the general public to believe news reports from the government, and repudiate all Falun Gong-related materials; that is, not believe in, listen to, or read them. The texts warned the public that they should report any sighting of Falun Gong materials to the local police.

The May 13th message read, “Spreading rumours, attacking the government, and endangers society and families! Please do not believe in, listen to, or read any Falun Gong propaganda. If you see these materials, you should hand them over to the local police station or residential committees. If you find any Falun Gong propaganda written on your paper money, you should go the bank and exchange them.”

The recipients were bewildered. What is the “City Security Office?” What is the “610 Office?" What do they do?

The 610 Office was created on June 10th, 1999, by Jiang Zemin, former secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in an attempt to eradicate Falun Gong. The 610 Office is pervasive throughout every province, city, county, and district in China, and it overrules the Constitution. This illegal organization promotes hatred, and slanders Falun Gong to justify the persecution. It has persecuted and tried to “transform” (brainwash) Falun Gong practitioners since 1999. The organization gives no written instructions on persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. All orders to are given verbally from “above.”

The 610 Office's crimes against humanity have been exposed worldwide, and the office is now notorious. To cover up its crimes and avoid international investigation, the 610 Office uses other names, such as the “Office of Prevention and Handling of Cults,” “Stability Maintenance Office,” “Office of City Security,” etc.

Passing them off as “legal education centres,” the 610 Office has set up brainwashing centres across the country, and without following any legal procedures, arrested and tortured millions of innocent Falun Gong practitioners. Without repercussion, 610 Office agents can brutally torture practitioners at will. The 610 Office rewards the agents with thousands of dollars for successfully “reforming” a practitioner.

The Political and Legal Affairs Committee and 610 Office are not law enforcement agencies. They are illegal organizations that arrest and detain law abiding citizens.

Recipients' reactions to the recent text messages ranged from indignant to amused. When a young employee at a state-run enterprise got such a message from the 610 Office, he mocked it in front of his colleagues, reading the message as, “Falun Gong is a righteous teaching. You must believe in and read all Falun Gong materials if you get them. Do not report them to the government. Do not listen to any rumours or news reports from the government.” Everyone laughed. People in Jinan are very clear-minded. They know the truth.

On the Eve of April 25th, “Red Tape” Brochures Posted on Bulletin Boards to Defame Falun Gong and Intimidate Local Residents

In early April 2014, “red tape” brochures slandering Falun Gong and its founder were posted in local residential community bulletin boards in Jinan by the Jinan Stability Maintenance Office and police department. The notices notified the general public not to publicize or post any Falun Gong materials, threatening that they would be sentenced. The brochures also encouraged people to report Falun Gong practitioners to the government for a reward.

Many undercover officers were mobilized to patrol the streets of Jinan, which the locals strongly resented. Some officers who didn't catch any Falun Gong practitioners started chasing the stray dogs and harassing the locals. People started to complain, “Those are stray dogs. We take care of them out of sympathy, yet you are chasing them instead of fulfilling your duty to arrest bad people involved in corruption, pornography, gambling, drugs, etc.” Their reply was, “Our job is to arrest Falun Gong practitioners who hang banners.”

Practitioners Arrested in Jinan Around April 24th, 2014:

1. Ms. Zhu Xiaodong, on her way to Ms. Li Jianmei's house, was arrested by police, who ambushed her on April 17th, 2014.

2. Undercover officers from the Yaojia Police Station in Lixia District went to Ms. Li Wei's company and arrested her on April 14th, 2014. They took her computer and mobile phone.

3. Officers from Yaojia Police Station broke into Ms. Zhang Jie's home and arrested her on April 14th, 2014. They ransacked her house and took her to the Zhonggong Detention Centre, where she is still being detained.

4. Ms. Li Jianmei was followed and arrested by an officer from the Huaiyin District Police Station on April 14th, 2014. Her home was ransacked her computer, Falun Gong books, and other personal belongings taken.

5. Ms. Zhan Yucai was arrested by an undercover policewoman when she was giving out Shen Yun[a New York-based world-class traditional Chinese cultural show] DVDs on Commercial Street in Jinan on March 16th, 2014. She is now being held in the Jinan City Detention Centre.

Practitioners' families and local people who are sympathetic to practitioners have warned them to be careful and not to go out on sensitive days. The Chinese have long been disillusioned by the corrupt government, and not many are willing to follow its lead. Many of the “red tape” posters have been torn down by local residents shortly after being put up.

Non-stop Surveillance

Early in the second half of 2013, the Jinan Police Department secretly dispatched officers to tap the phones of Falun Gong practitioners, follow them, and monitor their whereabouts, the activities they engaged in, the people they contacted, their materials exposing the persecution production sites, etc. It was reported that over 100 practitioners were being watched and monitored, but no arrests were made.

Many officers are unhappy about the persecution instructions they get from the CCP. They don't cooperate, and secretly protect practitioners.

Practitioners Arrested in the Second Half of 2013:

1. Two female practitioners were followed and arrested by an undercover officer when they were exposing the persecution at the bus station on Jianshe Road in downtown Jinan on June 4th, 2013. They were taken to the Two-Seven Xincun Police Station.

2. Ms. Wang Ruilian, Ms. Yang, Ms. Liu Ruiqiu, Ms. Li Meihong, and Mr. Ma Hengjun were arrested by officers from the Jinan 610 Office and police department on June 15th, 2013. The police had monitored them for over two months before the arrest. All but Ms. Wang are still being held in the Zhonggong Detention Centre.

3. Mr. He Xunming from the Lixia District was arrested while exposing the persecution on September 15th, 2013. The police ransacked his house the next day. He is being held in the Zhonggong Detention Centre.