(Clearwisdom.net) People must by now be familiar with the name "610 Office." It has received condemnation and disdain from just people and media because of the atrocities it has committed. What people know, however, is only the tip of the iceberg.

The "610 Office" is also called the "Office of the Leadership Team on the Issue of Falun Gong." It was established on June 10, 1999 and that is why it is known as the "610 Office." It is the decision-making and enforcement agency under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) "Leadership Team on the Issue of Falun Gong," headed by Li Lanqing. It is a permanent office under the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the CCP Central Committee, personally headed by Luo Gan. It is the highest government agency the Jiang regime uses to persecute Falun Gong. Since it does nothing but political persecution and is completely above the laws and other governmental agencies, it shares common traits with the former "CCP Central Committee Cultural Revolution Leadership Team." After the opening of the central "610 Office," local offices were established in all provinces, cities, autonomous regions and municipalities. Each local "610 Office" is organized under the auspices of the local CCP Political and Judicial Committee.

From the central government on down to the local ones, a strict and independent system has been formed within the "610 Office." This system has absolute power over all levels of the ruling Party, the governmental departments and judicial systems in China. Ever since its formation, the "610 Office" has become the source of persecution against Falun Dafa. This is an ironclad fact. Prior to the official launch of the persecution on July 22, 1999, all "610 Offices" at the municipal levels had already obtained a complete list of information on Falun Gong practitioners in the cities. The enforcers used this information to monitor and arrest key practitioners.

After July 22, the "610 Office" gradually came out from behind the scenes, appearing in the public media from time to time. It was not at all the ordinary machinery calling the shots where policies were made, which many people were led to believe. It is different from other governmental agencies that provide general guidance and leadership. As the decision-making and enforcement agency of the Jiang regime's campaign to persecute Falun Gong, it is in charge of any issue that has to do with Falun Gong, no matter how big or small. The "610 Office" directly operates and strictly controls subordinate Party agencies and governmental organizations, public security, the prosecutor's offices and the courts, as well as the national security, forced labor camp system, and even the news media and public opinion channels.

According to current laws, rules, and statutes in Mainland China, the nominal decision making power for "reeducation" through labor resides with the local Committee for Reeducation Through Labor. In reality, however, it is in the hands of the local judicial units of regional police departments, which also serve as the reconsideration units. Since the establishment of the "610 Office," all decisions made to send Falun Gong practitioners to forced labor camps should be made by the local Committee for Reeducation Through Labor, but in actuality it is authorities from the "610 Office" who single-handedly make the decisions. In addition, Falun Gong practitioners are completely deprived of their right to administrative reconsideration of the decision of the Reeducation Through Forced Labor Committee.

People may not be aware of the fact that many forced labor camps in China had detained and are still illegally detaining Falun Gong practitioners indefinitely without due legal procedures. The arch criminals are still the agents of the "610 Office." In addition to forced labor camps, shelters under the local civil administration bureau, and detention centers, administrative lockup houses, drug rehabilitation centers and prostitute reeducation facilities under the public security bureaus have all become tools for the malicious "610 Office" to illegally detain, abuse and even murder Falun Gong practitioners.

Under the instigation and connivance from the "610 Office," judicial personnel, facility guards and staff who are devoid of human nature inhumanly torture these innocent and kindhearted, illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners. The brutality and viciousness of these tortures are unprecedented. The evidence is ironclad and cases are too numerous to mention! Falun Gong practitioners are completely deprived of their human rights and are treated worse than criminals who have committed serious crimes. They are given such maltreatment only because they are unwilling to give up their firm belief in Falun Dafa.

The "610 Office" authorities have even ordered political and judicial committees from all counties and districts to set up coercive brainwashing classes, in an attempt to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs. Those who refuse to renounce Falun Gong were sent to detention centers, labor camps, mental hospitals and drug rehabilitation centers for further persecution. In order to carry out Jiang Zemin's orders of "defaming their reputation, bankrupting them financially, destroying them physically," the local "610 Offices" financially loot practitioners, with the amount of fines ranging from 1,000 to over 10,000 Yuan. In most cities, the municipal "610 Office" authorities determine the amount of the fine or the decision whether or not to fine people.

As Jiang Zemin's political villain group constantly elevated its persecution and defamation of Falun Gong, the "610 Office" people also grew fanatic in their arrests, detention and incarceration of more and more Falun Gong practitioners. It may be hard to believe that the decision to arrest, prosecute, put on trial, and sentence each specific Falun Gong practitioner is made in person by the provincial level "610 Offices." Different levels of public security bureaus, prosecutor's offices, and the courts put on show trials. Falun Gong practitioners are denied any of their rights, even the basic right to an attorney. It is unbelievable how much the constitution and the law are trampled! Even legislation later enacted by the National People's Congress and the legal explanation made by the highest court and highest procuratorate was only a legal cover-up Jiang Zemin's group used to conceal its evil political persecution against Falun Dafa and its practitioners.

The notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province is supposedly under the control of the provincial judicial department, but the controlling body is actually the "610 Office" of the Political and Judicial Committee of Liaoning Province Party Committee. With connivance and protection from the "610 Office," the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp dares to use all extreme ways possible to brutally torture Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to be "reformed." Because of its wanton propaganda, the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp was declared an "advanced unit" and spread its influence across the nation, causing the Chinese people much sorrow.

The above is only a brief, macroscopic summary and description of the facts about the "610 Office," and, considering all the facts, it reveals only a drop in the bucket. As the Fa-rectification of the human world progresses, all of the "610 Office" atrocities will eventually be exposed and all will come to light. The establishment and existence of the "610 Office" is a shame for mankind, and it is a great shame for the Chinese people with a 5,000-year civilization. As we learn about the truth, we should also devote some deep thinking to this issue.

We can conclude that the "610 Office" is a malicious and vivid embodiment of Jiang Zemin's dictatorial regime. Looking at the "610 Office," it is easy to see the Jiang's group's evil nature. Teacher said,

"All the methods employed by the evil political gang of scoundrels in the Chinese government are the most despicable, the most evil, and unknown to history - they have reached the extreme; they couldn't possibly be worse. Never before has a government been used to do these scoundrel things." (Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference)

Countless Dafa practitioners are forcibly separated from their spouses and children, and their families are broken up! As of July 2003, it can be verified that 754 Falun Dafa practitioners have been tortured to death, according to Clearwisdom statistics. Many other victims are not part of the statistics, including those who were directly cremated without identifying the person.

The main and fundamental reason why Jiang Zemin's group bears extreme hatred toward and indulges in fanatic persecution against Falun Dafa and the practitioners is because the good nature of Falun Dafa challenges the gang's evil nature.

(Original article published on Minghui Net on June 29, 2001)