The following instructions have been leaked and distributed online.
The document below instructs Internet security authorities in Runzhou, a district in the prefecture-level city of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, to pursue several persons who discussed assembling at a U.S. consulate (probably in nearby Shanghai) and in Beijing in a QQ group chat. “Launching on-the-ground stabilization and control work” ( 开展落地稳控工作) could include a range of offline tactics to control these netizens—interrogation, surveillance, house arrest, and any other means to stop these QQ users from organizing.
The phone numbers and national identification numbers of the QQ users have been redacted. “XX” indicates text that is cut off in the photographed document, which is included below the translation.
Notice of Important Assignment
No. 23
(Directive)
Runzhou Branch Office
December 14, 2015
Directive on Launch of On-the-ground Stabilization and Control Work of Netizen HuifujingyingJiangsu8W (恢复经营江苏8W, ID 545514791)
To the Runzhou Branch Office and Municipal Internet Security Detachment:
According to a brief from the provincial department, on December 14 during the 9 a.m. hour, netizens Huikudeyanjing (会哭的眼睛, ID 1127848363) and HuifujingyingJiangsu8W (恢复经营江苏8W, ID 545514791) incited a QQ group to “go to the U.S. consulate and get the world’s opinion on China.”
The transcript of their QQ chat is as follows:
Huikudeyanjing (1127848363) at 9:54:55: Depending on the situation, I think going to the Big Boxer Shorts is useless, and petitioning in Beijing is useless, but we should try them both. If they don’t work in the end, we can all think about going to the U.S. consulate. This way they’ll have an opinion on China internationally, and it’s also a [sore mark] on our government.
(393105183) at 9:54:57
HuifujingyingJiangsu8W (545514791) at 9:55:03: Next week [let’s] ask for a leave from work and go to Beijing.
There has already been an on-the-ground investigation. QQ user 1127848363 uses cell phone number [redacted]. The phone is owned by Wang Fang of Suzhou, national ID number [redacted]. QQ user 545514791 uses cell phone number [redacted]. The phone is owned by Zhao Kai of Zhenjiang, national ID number [redacted], census address on Minzhu Street, Runzhou.
XX branch office [must] quickly launch stabilization and control work on netizen Zhao Kai. We kindly ask the Municipal Internet Security Detachment to complete XX guidance. Please promptly report related work to through intelligence platforms to the municipal command XX.
Signed: Fan Dongxiao
Date: December 14. 2015
[Chinese]
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.
