On March 19, 2018, by publishing a document dated March 21, it was announced that the 610 Office was being abolished and its functions transferred to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Public Security.[32] Hong Kong scholar Edward Irons reported in February 2019 that what had been "abolished" was the Central 610 Office, while local offices remained active. The scholar also noticed that the reorganization strengthened, rather than softening, the repression of banned religious groups, and that another structure within the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Public Security Anti-Xie-Jiao Bureau (公安部反邪教局: xiejiao is a term often translated as "cults" or "evil cults" but Irons and other scholars prefer the translation "heterodox teachings"[33]), which was always parallel but separated from the 610 Office, also continues its independent activities.[34][citation needed]