Belgium Standaard: Chinese Communist Party's Gestapo-Like 610 Office

On October 19th 2005, former 610 office¹ staff Hao Fengjun and former diplomat of Chinese Consulate in Sydney Chenyong Lin testified at European Parliament. The two both stated that they could not tolerate the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and disclosed the nature of 610 office, an agency which was established by CCP to persecute Falun Gong and is similar to Gestapo in nature.

According to a report by the De Standaard on October 19th, Hao Fengjun, 32, and Chen Yonglin, 37, were forced to leave their motherland as they couldn't tolerate the CCP persecution of Falun Gong any longer. Evidently this suppressive machine has developed problems, and Hao and Chen recounted how they fled and denounced the CCP. The two testified at Flanders council in Belgium.

The report said that Hao and Chen made it clear that they were not Falun Gong practitioners though they had deep sympathy to practitioners' suffering. The two described Falun Gong as a lifestyle and a belief. Mr. Chen was the First Secretary in Chinese Consulate in Sydney and was in charge of political affairs. It seems that he sympathises very much with Falun Gong. He described Falun Gong as a practice based on traditional Chinese meditation. He is against the current popular worship of money in China and he believes that such values are destroying people's morality and conscience.

Since the brutal persecution started in 1999, the CCP has done many disgusting things which disappointed the public: After Falun Gong practitioners went to the Central Appeal Office to appeal peacefully, the CCP established the 610 Office to eliminate Falun Gong. The office is named according to the date (June 10) it was established. It was the responsibility of Mr. Chen in the Sydney Chinese consulate to collect and analyse information about Falun Gong in Australia. Agents of the 610 Office have carried out many activities to intimidate and persecute overseas practitioners. Chen gradually learnt that Falun Gong is not as the CCP claims and has made friends with some practitioners. He also felt that his job had become a big burden on him and he finally left the consulate this past May.

Hao Fengjun was an official in the 610 office. Before he joined the 610 office, he was a policeman. His job with the 610 office was to collect and analyse information gathered from citizens trained by the propaganda to "turn in" Falun Gong practitioners to the police. The 610 office where he worked had authority over other local governmental bodies to direct them to persecute Falun Gong.

Hao Fengjun said: "The agency is just like the Gestapo." Once, more than 70 practitioners were arrested for hanging banners in public places. In one police office, Hao witnessed brutal torture of a lady in her fifties. To Hao, he realised that these Falun Gong practitioners were not criminals and were just normal people. The only reason for persecution was that they practise Falun Gong.

Note:

1. The 610 office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.