Attacks on culture quickly descended into attacks on people. Ignoring guidelines in the 'Sixteen Articles' which stipulated that persuasion rather than force were to be used to bring about the Cultural Revolution, officials in positions of authority and perceived 'bourgeois elements' were denounced and suffered physical and psychological attacks.[1] On 22 August 1966, a central directive was issued to stop police intervention in Red Guard activities.[26] Those in the police force who defied this notice were labeled "counter-revolutionaries."