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Social Stability

Leaked Documents Reveal CCP Plan to “Eliminate” Falun Gong, Escalating Persecution

The Falun Dafa Information Center has reportedly obtained information from insiders in China’s Ministry of Public Security’s (MPS) regarding the organization’s new plan to “dismantle Falun Gong worldwide,” including in the United States. Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) “is an ancient spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999 and has continued its persecution of the practice until today. The CCP has also targeted the Shen Yun performing arts group, which showcases traditional Chinese culture and religious beliefs and aims to raise awareness about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

The Falun Dafa Information Center’s report stated that “it is abundantly clear both from sources inside China as well as from observable attacks (on Falun Gong and Shen Yun) over the past few months that these escalations against Falun Gong have already begun and are trending into uncharted territory. The internal documents explicitly state that the regime’s aim is to ‘eliminate Falun Gong worldwide.’”

The MPS’ new plan has five tactics:

  1. “Coordinated propaganda attacks against Shen Yun, Falun Gong”
  2. “Inciting conflict between Falun Gong and the U.S. Government”
    The MPS indicates it will deploy a two-pronged strategy:

    1. Incite Falun Gong practitioners to distrust and even protest the U.S. government.
    2. Provoke the U.S. government to investigate Shen Yun Performing Arts and other organizations founded by Falun Gong practitioners.
  3. “Cutting communication channels that expose persecution inside China,” blocking Falun Gong practitioners in China from contacting their overseas supporters
  4. “Manipulating search engines and disseminating content in multiple formats” as a means to “carry out the offensive” against Falun Gong.
  5. “Provoking distrust and internal divisions within the Falun Gong community”

Source: Falun Dafa Information Center website
https://faluninfo.net/weaponizing-social-media/

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability US-China Relations

Another Chinese Young Man Confronts CCP, Calls for Xi Jinping’s Resignation

Recently a Chinese young man has attracted attention by calling for the ouster of Xi Jinping using a wifi router to spread his message.

On August 14, Su Yutong, a Chinese freelance writer living in Germany, released a video on the web and stated: “A young person from China who has been promoting the movement to dismantle the Great Firewall (CCP’s internet censorship/blockade system) was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital on political charges. This morning, I received this video showing that he has once again confronted the CCP.” In the video, the young man shouted: “Oppose the CCP’s internet censorship and control of speech,” “No privileges, we want equality,” and “We need freedom of speech and internet freedom.” The video was recorded outdoors. The young man hoped that Chinese people would be able to “see the true face of the CCP.” The young man also mentioned that, in the past, he had used routers and other equipment to broadcast messages such as “Xi Jinping, step down.” The authorities issued a warrant for him as a “political criminal,” ransacked his home, and confiscated his equipment including routers, laser sound systems, transmitter modules, and mobile phones.

On August 16, Su Yutong posted again on the X platform again, identifying the young man as Yan Zhongjian, born in February 1999. Su received a message from a friend entrusted by Yan: the friend and Yan had agreed that, if Yan could not be contacted for a certain period of time, the friend would release Yan’s personal information and call on netizens to show concern and support for him.

The young man followed in the footsteps of several other dissidents in recent history. For example, in October 2022 Peng Lifa posted banners and played recordings denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and asking for the ouster of Xi Jinping. On July 30 of this year, Fang Yirong posted similar messages on an overpass in Hunan Province (see this ChinaScope briefing).

Source: Epoch Times, August 17, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/8/17/n14313098.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

China Warns of ‘Anti-China’ Study Abroad Agencies, Tightens Control of Overseas Students

China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has reported that some overseas study agencies have been “altering student resumes” to include anti-China rhetoric in study abroad applications, posing a threat to national security. The MSS claims to have uncovered a case where an agency assisted foreign anti-China forces in infiltrating student groups by modifying application materials with “illegal content that damaged China’s image.” The MSS warned “students and parents to be cautious of study abroad opportunities being used as bait for anti-China activities.” It cited laws that classify the “fabrication or distortion of facts harmful to national security” as espionage-related offenses. The MSS release reflects the tightening control of China’s government over overseas students, possibly reflecting CCP fears of losing ideological influence over the Chinese youth as well as a reaction to growing political awareness among the middle class.

One such study abroad agency allegedly promised students a “green channel” for admission to foreign universities by “polishing” their application essays. In May, the agency and its leadership were reportedly “dealt with according to law.” Meanwhile, some have described increasingly strict procedures facing Chinese students wishing to study abroad, including political screenings and as a requirement that prospective students sign guarantees of loyalty to the Chinese government.

The MSS announcement has created a chilling effect among Chinese netizens, with some parents expressing concerns about their children being labeled as anti-China or being accused of endangering national security while studying abroad.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 9, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/hx2-chinese-security-agencies-08092024075724.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The First Known Survivor of CCP’s Forced Organ Harvesting Speaks Out in Washington, DC

Cheng Peiming, a 58-year-old Chinese man from Northeast China, is regarded as the first known survivor of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) program of forced live organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. On August 9, at a forum in Washington, D.C., he publicly shared his experience in which the Chinese authorities forcibly removed his organs twenty years ago.

Cheng stated that he was repeatedly detained and tortured by the CCP for practicing Falun Gong. In 2002 he was sentenced to eight years in prison. In July 2004, in a state of good health, he was dragged from prison to a hospital where guards tried to make him sign a form of consent for surgery. When he refused to sign, the guards knocked him down and anesthetized him. When he woke up three days later, Cheng found himself handcuffed to a bed with a 35-centimeter-long incision on his chest. In 2006, prison guards again took Cheng to a hospital. He said, “They had no reason for any surgery, so I knew I would be killed.” He managed to escape while the guards were sleeping. Cheng spent the next nine years hiding in China and managed to flee to Thailand in 2015. Four years ago, with assistance from the U.S. government, he came to America through the United Nations refugee program.

When media reports on China’s forced organ harvesting practices first emerged in 2006, Cheng realized that this was what had happened to him. It was only after arriving in the U.S. that transplant specialists confirmed through scans that part of his liver and left lung had been removed. Cheng said that he still cannot feel certain parts of his chest and struggles daily with severe pain throughout his body.

In 2019 an independent tribunal in London (“The China Tribunal”) ruled that the CCP has committed crimes against humanity through its continuous harvesting of organs from minority groups, including Falun Gong practitioners. Two years later, a United Nations human rights expert reported that, in addition to Falun Gong practitioners, other minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims, and Christians detained in China, had also become targets of forced organ harvesting. In June of this year the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act, aimed at compelling the CCP to end its persecution of Falun Gong and the forced harvesting of organs from detained practitioners.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 9, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/kw8-forced-organ-harvesting-08092024135324.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

Major Scandal Unfolds: Illegal Corpse Trade and Bone Harvesting Operation Exposed in China

On August 8, Beijing attorney Yi Shenghua made an online disclosure of case materials related to the theft, insult, and intentional destruction of human corpses, triggering a media frenzy in China. The alleged company involved in such activity is Shanxi Aorui Biological Materials Co., Ltd. (Shanxi Aorui), established in 1999 as a subsidiary of the state-owned China Radiation Protection Research Institute. The company’s business scope consists of research, development, production, and sale of “allogeneic bone implantation materials.” The company is accused of illegally purchasing corpses and limbs and then engaging in brutal dissection, removal of flesh, cleaning, irradiation, etc., of these bodies and bones, to produce “allogeneic bone implantation materials” during the time period from January 2015 through July 2023. The company had a total revenue of 380 million yuan (US$ 53 million) from the period 2015 through 2023.

Allogeneic bones (from humans) are a good source of material for bone transplantation and, per established international medical standards, should come from explicit donors. Shanxi Aorui’s sources generally did not sign up to be donors, and the family members of the deceased were not aware of the Shanxi Aorui activities.

There are currently 75 criminal suspects identified; all have confessed to criminal activities consistent with the allegations against Shanxi Aorui. The business conducted operations in Chongqing City and provinces of Sichuan, Guangxi, Shandong, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

Frighteningly, the case is linked to China’s live organ transplant industry. Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital is one of the hospitals designated by the Ministry of Health for performance of liver transplants. Between 2015 and 2021, the hospital’s Associate Chief Physician Li Zhiqiang at the Liver Disease Center dismembered organ donor corpses and stored them in a freezer before selling them to Shanxi Aorui, with each corpse fetching a price between 10,000 and 22,000 yuan. Shanxi Aorui picked up five deliveries from Li. The hospital’s website listed Li as the Deputy Director of the Organ Transplant Center and Director of the Intensive Care Unit. After the incident gained attention, the hospital removed Li’s resume from its website.

Source: Epoch Times, August 8, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/8/8/n14307307.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

China Plans to Issue National ID Intermediating Citizens’ Internet Access

The Chinese authorities have announced the “National Network Identity Authentication Public Service Management Measures (Draft for Comments),” jointly issued by the Ministry of Public Security and the National Internet Information Office. According to the document, the “network number” (网号) is composed of letters and numbers and is linked to each person’s individual identity. The “network certificate” (网证) refers to the network authentication credential that carries the “network number.” These pieces of information, issued by authorities at the national level, can verify a natural person’s true identity when they use internet services.

Since 2017, Beijing has mandated a comprehensive real-name registration system for Chinese users of the internet. This enables the CCP to control people’s interactions online, as users are required to use their real identity when registering accounts on any major online platform. Each online platform has thus has collected users’ critical personal information. The authorities state that the recently-announced national “network number” and “network certificate” system will allow users to verify their identity using a government-issued app, meaning that individual commercial internet platforms will no longer need to be responsible for verification of users’ identities.

Although the draft specifies that the deadline for feedback is August 25, the “National Network Identity Authentication Pilot Version” app has already been launched on several mobile app stores in China. Users can now verify their identity and obtain an electronic network identity certificate with a “network number.” This pilot includes 10 government service apps and 71 internet apps, including Taobao, WeChat, and Xiaohongshu.

Critics pointed out that there is no legal basis for the government to require people to use “real name” to access Internet, and that requiring the use of a national-level identity will make it easier for authorities to completely block a person from using the internet.

Source: BBC, August 6, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-69244432

Briefings | | |   @CS Information/Technology Social Stability

Lianhe Zaobao: China Plans to Issue Unified Internet IDs to Netizens

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the Chinese government plans to issue unified internet ID numbers and certificates to members of the Chinese public in order to verify the true identity of users. This raised concerns over control of speech.

China’s Ministry of Public Security and the Chinese Cyberspace Administration just released a document titled “National Internet Identity Authentication Public Service Management Measures (Draft for Comments).” According to the document, the purpose of the internet ID is “to strengthen the protection of people’s personal information.”

Some scholars said that the implementation of internet identification numbers and certificates will help avoid information leakage, reduce network violence, and combat telecommunications fraud. Skeptics expressed the belief that this is yet another way for the authorities to tighten control over speech. Some netizens commented that “in the future, if the government wants to block anyone, it only needs to block an online ID to ban the user across the entire network. Isn’t it scary?”

China has fully implemented an online real-name system since 2017. There have been many suspected database leaks. Some people found that their real personal information registered with Chinese social media platforms had been leaked to the dark web.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, July 29, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20240729-4389461

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology Social Stability

Hunan Protester Hangs Banner Calling for Democracy, Provokes National Response by CCP

On July 30, in Xinhua County, Loudi City, Hunan Province, someone identified as Fang Yirong hung a large banner from an overpass and played a loud audio recording demanding reform and democracy. The CCP was extremely alarmed by this incident. The Ministry of Public Security sent personnel to Hunan to handle the case, and “stability maintenance” efforts were increased nationwide to prevent similar incidents from occurring in other regions. There were also reports that the police had arrested the protester, a 22-year-old university student.

The audio recording said

“We want freedom, we want democracy, we want votes! Strike from work, strike from classes, and oust the dictatorial national traitor Xi Jinping.”

This was the same slogan used by Peng Lifa, who posted banners and played recordings in October 2022, sparking the widespread “blank paper” protests a month later.

The banner displayed by Fang Yirong also mirrored Peng’s original slogan, except that the first line of the banner had been altered from “No nucleic acid tests, we want food” to “No privileges, we want equality.” In its entirety, the banner read:

No privileges, we want equality!
No lockdowns, we want freedom!
No lies, we want dignity!
No Cultural Revolution, we want reform!
No leaders, we want votes!
No slaves (of the CCP), we want to be citizens!

On August 2, well-known internet user “Li Laoshi Bu Shi Ni Laoshi” (whose username translates to “Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher”) posted on the X platform identifying the protester as Fang Yirong. In the post, Li Laoshi shared a video statement that had been recorded by Fang Yirong:

“I have always been a moderate leftist. Since the fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang on November 24, 2022, I lost my last bit of hope in the CCP’s one-party dictatorship. In mid-July 2023, while planning to oppose Xi Jinping’s dictatorship, I was discovered by cyber police. I have been under continuous surveillance and was eventually subjected to house arrest and torture by the CCP authorities. During my house arrest, I tried to reconcile with the CCP. My views shifted from being anti-establishment to pro-establishment, but under intense intimidation, my views gradually reverted to being anti-establishment. I ultimately realized that there is no room for compromise with the devil. I hope you can make my story public and expose the devil’s atrocities!”

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 2, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/kw2-hunan-xi-jinping-protest-banner-08022024125456.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Social Stability