China Orders to Crack Down “harshly” on Dissent, Leaked Document Shows

By Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, April 4, 2008-

China’s ruling Communist Party has ordered regional party leaders to use military and intelligence units to crack down “harshly” on dissent and step up spying throughout the country as part of security measures before the upcoming Olympic Games, according to a purported internal party document.

The 3,600-character document outlines the party’s plan for countering expected unrest and opposition, like the violent protests that began last month in Tibet and neighboring Sichuan province that have been met with attacks on civilians by Chinese military and security forces.

The Washington Times obtained the document from Chinese sources and verified through authoritative sources that it appears to be a legitimate Central Committee document. A translation from Chinese was checked with several U.S. specialists.

President Bush last week called Chinese President Hu Jintao and said he was concerned about the crackdown in Tibet and called on him to authorize talks with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled leader.

“As the Beijing Olympics approaches, various enemy forces inside and outside our border are accelerating their sabotage activities with a focus on the Olympics,” the party document states, adding that these forces will exploit the Olympics to “attack our social and political system.”

The document identifies the enemy forces as “national separation forces” and violent terrorists, including Tibetans and separatists in western Xinjiang province, who have “joined forces” with dissident religious groups such as the Falun Gong Buddhist group.

Maintaining security at the Olympics, to be held Aug. 8 to 24, will be a “serious test” for Chinese security organs and political and judicial authorities, the document says. The report lists eight objectives as part of the Olympics security plan.

The document apparently was produced by the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, specifically its Central Political and Judiciary Affairs Committee that has authority over the Ministry of Public Security, which controls the police and security forces, and the Ministry of State Security, which conducts intelligence gathering. The committee is headed by Zhou Yongkang, one of nine senior party leaders and minister of public security until last year.

The document provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the secretive ruling party. It repeatedly uses the phrase “strictly guard against and harshly crack down,” in directing local party officials. The document calls for officials to counter “infiltration and sabotage activities” by “taking advantage of inner conflicts among our people.” The plan also called for taking action against the Falun Gong and other religious groups, as well as targeting criminal activities by organized crime groups like the Asian Triads.

Party orders called for cracking down on financial crimes, illegal fundraising and pyramid schemes and other activities the party views as “destructive to the order of the socialist market economy.”

… ( More details from The Washington Times: China order targets dissent)