Beware of the CCP's Gradual Persecution
Aug 15, 2024
In modern society, we often assume that extreme atrocities and persecutions occur suddenly, as disasters that descend overnight. However, history repeatedly shows us that many of the most horrific atrocities did not happen all at once but rather evolved gradually through a process of “gradual persecution.” During this process, victims and bystanders may overlook or misjudge the early stages, ultimately falling into an inescapable predicament. Today, we must be highly vigilant against the CCP’s gradual persecution, learn from history, and prevent similar tragedies from recurring.
The Strategy of Gradual Escalation in Persecution
Gradual persecution is a common suppression strategy used by totalitarian regimes, which weakens, isolates, and even eliminates perceived threats through phased means. For example, first, this strategy employs defamation in public opinion, causing the targeted group to lose legitimacy and support in society. Then, the regime utilizes legal and institutional measures to legalize and normalize the repression, further weakening the targeted group’s ability to resist. Next, persecution escalates to extreme measures such as illegal detention and torture. Finally, it progresses to physical eradication and mass extermination, such as the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners.
This strategy of gradually escalating persecution avoids intense resistance in the early stages because each step is built on the previous one, leaving the targeted group without sufficient time or resources to effectively organize and resist. Moreover, by employing this method, a totalitarian regime can maximize its control over public opinion, reduce domestic dissent and international intervention, and thus ensure the smoother implementation of persecution actions.
This strategy also gives the suppression actions a veneer of “legitimacy” and “reasonableness” at the societal level, as each step is based on the previous one, creating the impression of a gradual and rational progression, thereby reducing society’s questioning and resistance to the repressive actions. The result of this approach is that the targeted group’s space for survival in society is gradually squeezed, ultimately leading to their complete isolation and annihilation.
The Case of Falun Gong as a Warning
Falun Gong is a typical example demonstrating how the CCP achieves its repressive goals through gradual persecution. Before 1999, Falun Gong was widely practiced in China, with millions of practitioners participating. However, when this spiritual movement was perceived as a threat by the CCP, the machinery of repression began to operate.
At the early stage of persecution, totalitarian regimes typically do not resort to direct violence but rather use propaganda and media manipulation to gradually shape a negative image of the targeted group. In the case of Falun Gong, the CCP did not initially implement harsh suppression but instead conducted widespread stigmatization through state media, portraying Falun Gong as a “cult,” thus laying the groundwork for subsequent repression. The purpose of this phase is to gradually weaken the targeted group’s legitimacy and support in society through a shift in public opinion.
Next, as the public opinion campaign reaches its culmination, persecution enters the legal and institutional phase. In 1999, the CCP officially declared Falun Gong an illegal organization and subsequently introduced a series of laws and policies to restrict the activities of its members. This phase marks the legalization and institutionalization of repression, making the suppression actions appear “reasonable and legal,” further isolating Falun Gong practitioners at the societal level.
After the groundwork of the first two phases, persecution enters its most severe phase, involving direct repression through violence and terror. This phase is characterized by mass arrests, imprisonment, forced “reeducation,” torture, and psychological control. For Falun Gong practitioners, the CCP not only used torture to force them to renounce their beliefs but also sought to completely destroy them physically and mentally through prolonged imprisonment and labor camps. From initial media control to legal repression, it ultimately developed into direct physical and psychological violence.
What is most shocking is that during the extreme stages of persecution, it began to verge on genocide, with Falun Gong practitioners became victims of organ harvesting, an horrific organ transplantation industry, essentially becoming so-called “living organ banks.” The emergence of such extreme actions is precisely the result of gradual persecution reaching its extreme. If Falun Gong practitioners and society had realized earlier that repression could evolve into such extreme forms, perhaps the early resistance and intervention would have been more vigorous and effective.
Lessons from History
Not only Falun Gong but also the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany is a classic example of gradual persecution. At the beginning of World War II, most Jews did not realize they would ultimately be sent to concentration camps for genocide, so resistance in the early stages of persecution was relatively limited.
The Nazi persecution began with gradual escalation, from discriminatory laws and social isolation to large-scale arrests and massacres. This process was a gradual and shocking experience for the Jewish community. During their arrest and deportation to concentration camps, many might not have fully grasped the severity of the worsening situation or believed that the worst could still be avoided.
The Nazi regime imposed extremely tight control and repression on occupied territories and concentration camps. Jews and other victims were forcibly isolated, cutting off the flow of information from the outside world, often unable to understand the full picture of what was happening outside. Additionally, the violence of the armed Nazi troops and the Gestapo made resistance highly risky, and personal or small-scale resistance actions often led to severe punishment or further repression.
In extreme living conditions, many Jews were forced to focus on the most basic survival issues. In the concentration camps, hunger, disease, physical labor, and extreme psychological pressure made it difficult for most people to organize effective resistance. Furthermore, concerns about the safety of family members and loved ones also became an important factor causing hesitation in resisting, fearing that angering the Nazis would lead to broader reprisals.
Resistance requires not only courage but also resources and organization. At that time, Jews had been stripped of most of their property and resources, lacking effective weapons and support to confront the heavily armed Nazi troops. This extreme lack of resources meant that even the desire to resist was difficult to put into action.
When they realized they were facing an existential crisis, even though resistance became more intense, it was too late, and ultimately the tragedy could not be prevented. For example, the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is a well-known resistance event. The Jewish underground organization engaged in fierce battles with the Nazi troops; although they ultimately failed, they displayed tremendous courage and determination. Additionally, there were other uprisings and sabotage actions by prisoners in concentration camps, such as the escapes and resistance actions at Treblinka and Sobibor camps.
History tells us that totalitarian regimes often carry out persecution through gradual escalation, making each stage of repression appear reasonable and legitimate, but in reality, paving the way for more extreme behavior. When society gradually adapts to the previous stage of persecution, the next atrocity becomes easier to execute, eventually forming an extreme situation that is difficult to reverse.
Vigilance and Action
Today, the reality we face remains harsh. The CCP continues to implement various forms of repression domestically while also influencing international public opinion and policy through various means. Therefore, in the face of such gradual persecution, we must remain highly vigilant, recognize its early signals, and take action to resist it.
First, transparency of information and public opinion oversight are crucial. By exposing and reporting the truth about persecution, we can break the information control of totalitarian regimes and prevent them from isolating the targeted groups through propaganda wars. Second, legal and human rights organizations should strengthen monitoring and intervention in persecution actions to ensure that victims’ rights are protected and to prevent institutionalized repression from becoming legalized. Finally, the international community must enhance cooperation through diplomatic, economic, and legal means to stop the persecution actions of totalitarian regimes and prevent them from further escalating.
Conclusion
Gradual persecution is an extremely dangerous suppression strategy that leads society to extreme atrocities and human rights disasters through gradual escalation. History has repeatedly proven that ignoring this strategy has catastrophic consequences. Today, we must draw wisdom from history, remain vigilant against the CCP’s gradual persecution, and bravely stand up to speak out for those being persecuted to prevent tragedies from recurring. This is not only to protect individual rights and dignity but also to uphold our shared human values.
– This text was translated by AI. –