Changes

The [[610 Office]] was the main organization created to eliminate Falun Gong. It is nominally subordinate to the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC). The Political and Legal Affairs Committee purview was expanded after the 610 Office was incorporated into it.  The 610 Office derives its name from the date of its founding, June 10th, 1999.  After that date, almost every Party branch, from the province to the county to the district level, established its own 610 Office. The source of the 610 Office’s ability to operate extralegally and with impunity is not drawn from the State. Neither the People's Congress nor the State Council has authorized its actions. Rather, approval and support for its deeds comes from the CCP. Each 610 Office takes orders from the 610 Office one level above it, going up to the Central Committee 610 Office. The local 610 Offices also take orders from the leadership team of the CCP Committee at its same organizational level.<ref>http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/droi/dv/506_yiyangxia_/506_yiyangxia_en.pdf</ref>  It later changed its name to the Central Leading Group on Dealing with Heretical Religions or Office of Maintaining Stability.

The [[610 Office]] was the main organization created to eliminate Falun Gong. It is nominally subordinate to the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC). The Political and Legal Affairs Committee purview was expanded after the 610 Office was incorporated into it.  The 610 Office derives its name from the date of its founding, June 10th, 1999.  After that date, almost every Party branch, from the province to the county to the district level, established its own 610 Office. The source of the 610 Office’s ability to operate extralegally and with impunity is not drawn from the State. Neither the People's Congress nor the State Council has authorized its actions. Rather, approval and support for its deeds comes from the CCP. Each 610 Office takes orders from the 610 Office one level above it, going up to the Central Committee 610 Office. The local 610 Offices also take orders from the leadership team of the CCP Committee at its same organizational level.<ref>http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/droi/dv/506_yiyangxia_/506_yiyangxia_en.pdf</ref>  It later changed its name to the Central Leading Group on Dealing with Heretical Religions or Office of Maintaining Stability.

By the end of 2000, a year and a half after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the suppression of [[Falun Gong]], the campaign had failed to garner support among many of the CCP's rank and file. Then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin had toured southern provinces earlier in 2000 hoping to shore up more support for the campaign among local leaders. Meanwhile, public support for the campaign more broadly had waned. On January 23, 2001, five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in [[Tiananmen Square]]. The entire scene was caught on camera from multiple angles. Beginning just hours after the event, state-controlled media was flooded with reports that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. These reports included grisly footage of the victims, portraying Falun Gong teachings as directly responsible for the tragedy.

By the end of 2000, a year and a half after the CCP launched the suppression of [[Falun Gong]], the campaign had failed to garner support among many of the CCP's rank and file. Then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin had toured southern provinces earlier in 2000 hoping to shore up more support for the campaign among local leaders. Meanwhile, public support for the campaign more broadly had waned. On January 23, 2001, five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in [[Tiananmen Square]]. The entire scene was caught on camera from multiple angles. Beginning just hours after the event, state-controlled media was flooded with reports that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. These reports included grisly footage of the victims, portraying Falun Gong teachings as directly responsible for the tragedy.

In the weeks following the event, a wealth of evidence, including a ''[[Washington Post]]'' article finding that two of the self-immolators never practiced Falun Gong,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/02/04/human-fire-ignites-chinese-mystery/e27303e3-6117-4ec3-b6cf-58f03cdb4773/ |author=|title= Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=4 February 2001|access-date=}}</ref> uncovered that the entire incident was staged. Other evidence surfaced by journalists and international observers indicated that CCP officils had advance knowledge of the self-immolation.  Yet, while people inside China had no access to this information, the Chinese state-run media continued a campaign to portray the "self-immolators" as Falun Gong "cultists."  People across China changed from respecting and sympathizing with Falun Gong to becoming infuriated with and attacking the practice. [[Hate crime]]s targeting Falun Gong practitioners increased and the CCP escalated its [[persecution]] with increased [[arrest]]s, [[torture]], killing, and [[forced organ harvesting]].<ref>https://en.minghui.org/cc/88/</ref>

In the weeks following the event, a wealth of evidence, including a ''[[Washington Post]]'' article finding that two of the self-immolators never practiced Falun Gong,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/02/04/human-fire-ignites-chinese-mystery/e27303e3-6117-4ec3-b6cf-58f03cdb4773/ |author=|title= Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=4 February 2001|access-date=}}</ref> uncovered that the entire incident was staged. Other evidence surfaced by journalists and international observers indicated that CCP officils had advance knowledge of the self-immolation.  Yet, while people inside China had no access to this information, the Chinese state-run media continued a campaign to portray the "self-immolators" as Falun Gong "cultists."  People across China changed from respecting and sympathizing with Falun Gong to becoming infuriated with and attacking the practice. [[Hate crime]]s targeting Falun Gong practitioners increased and the CCP escalated its [[persecution]] with increased [[arrest]]s, [[torture]], killing, and [[forced organ harvesting]].<ref>https://en.minghui.org/cc/88/</ref>