(Minghui.org) Gao Yichen, former deputy minister of the Ministry of State Security and former deputy director of the Central 610 Office, was indicted on January 20, 2026, for “seriously violating Party discipline.”
According to an official announcement by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Gao was accused of accepting bribes and interfering with judicial matters. He was expelled from the Party.
Born in October 1950, Gao is a native of Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province. He graduated from Heilongjiang University with a bachelor’s degree in Russian in 1972. He worked as a correspondent for the official CCP newspaper Guangming Daily in the Soviet Union and the United States. He then worked his way up to become the deputy minister of the Ministry of State Security. In 2005, he was appointed deputy director of the Central 610 Office. He also served as deputy secretary-general of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) and deputy director of the Central Stability Maintenance Working Group. He held advisory positions in several “anti-cult” organizations as well. He retired in 2017.
Gao was placed under investigation in June 2025.
The Central 610 Office
The Central 610 Office, also known as the Office of the Central Leading Group on Preventing and Handling Cult Issues, was established on June 10, 1999, by former CCP leader Jiang Zemin. It was specifically created to persecute Falun Gong. Together with the Central PLAC, it oversees public security, law enforcement, and judicial agencies in creating and executing persecution policies against Falun Gong. It has branches at all levels of government, as well as in some public and private-sector organizations.
Persecution During Gao’s Tenure
During Gao’s tenure as the deputy director of the Central 610 Office from 2005 to 2015, the persecution of Falun Gong remained severe across China. At least 1,272 practitioners died as a result of the persecution. Some practitioners were beaten to death while in custody, days or months after their arrests. Some of their bodies cremated without their families’ knowledge. Thousands more were arrested, harassed, or sentenced to prison.
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Category: Media Reports
