June 6, 2001 Posted: 0835 GMT

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Beijing has classified the campaign against the Falun Gong [...] [group] as a "long-term struggle."

Sources close to the security establishment said this was the party leadership's indirect admission that the Falun Gong movement could not be exterminated in the foreseeable future.

In recent internal briefings to officials nationwide, senior law-enforcement cadres said significant headway had been made in combating the "[Chinese government's slanderous term omitted]."

However, the cadres pointed out that while the Falun Gong had been prevented from holding high-profile demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, it had gone underground and remained a big threat to stability.

It is estimated that more than 12,000 Falun Gong practitioners have since late 1999 been put behind bars.

The great majority of these practitioners are held in police-operated "reform through labor" camps, and most such cases have not gone through proper legal and judicial procedures.

In the briefings, however, law-enforcement cadres indicated Falun Gong practitioners had remained active in the provinces, where they were able to recruit new members and form new cells. [Editor's note: Falun Gong does not have memberships or cells.]

A Beijing security source said in order to wage an effective "long-term struggle," party authorities had set up a 'Leading Group on Combating xx', which is headed by senior Politburo member Li Lanqing.

The leading group has established anti-xx offices in every province and major city.

Moreover, in regional administrations, one vice-governor and vice-mayor will be held personally responsible for controlling and clamping down on xx activities.

[...]

State security and intelligence operatives, including those based overseas, are asked to spend on resources on collecting information about active [group] members.

Moreover, anti-xx education campaigns will be held in schools, factories and government units in an apparent bid to generate a Mao-style mass movement against the Falun Gong.

[...]