The Party's Mass Line Must Be Followed in Suppressing Counter-Revolutionaries

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of The Party's Mass Line Must Be Followed in Suppressing Counter-Revolutionaries has been translated, prepared, and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

• The Party's Mass Line Must Be Followed in Suppressing Counter-Revolutionaries, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 5, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• The Party's Mass Line Must Be Followed in Suppressing Counter-Revolutionaries, in the Collected Works of Mao Zedong, First Chinese Edition, Vol. 6, People's Publishing House, Beijing.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

These are passages added by Comrade Mao Zedong to the Draft Resolution of the Third National Conference on Public Security when he revised it on the 15th of May, 1951. It was first published in the Red Guard collection Long Live Mao Zedong's Thought! in 1968.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#THE PARTY'S MASS LINE MUST BE FOLLOWED IN SUPPRESSING COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES

#PASSAGES ADDED TO THE DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE THIRD NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PUBLIC SECURITY

#Mao Zedong

#15th of May, 1951

#★

#1

The number of counter-revolutionaries to be killed must be kept within certain proportions. The principle to follow here is that those who owe blood debts or are guilty of other extremely serious crimes and have to be executed to assuage the people's anger and those who have caused extremely serious harm to the national interest must be unhesitatingly sentenced to death and executed without delay. As for those whose crimes deserve capital punishment, but who owe no blood debts and are not bitterly hated by the people, or who have done serious but not extremely serious harm to the national interest, the policy to follow is to hand down the death sentence, grant a two-year reprieve, and subject them to forced labour to see how they behave. Especially for counter-revolutionaries who should be sentenced to death and who have been cleared out of the Communist Party, the People's Government, the People's Liberation Army, cultural and educational circles, industrial and commercial circles, religious circles, democratic political parties, and people's organizations, generally speaking, on the basis of the principle of executing only 10 to 20%, the other 80 to 90% should be sentenced to death, granted a reprieve, and subjected to forced labour to see how they behave. In this way, we can win public sympathy, avoid making mistakes, divide and disintegrate the enemy (which is conducive to the complete elimination of the counter-revolutionary forces), and preserve a large pool of labour-power (which is conducive to increasing production and to national construction). At the same time, on the issue of executing counter-revolutionaries, if the number of people executed in a certain locality has reached 0,05% of the total population, executions should be stopped immediately. In addition, it must be explicitly stipulated that, in cases where it is marginal whether to make an arrest, under no circumstances should there be an arrest and that to act otherwise would be a mistake, and that in cases where it is marginal whether to execute, under no circumstances should there be an execution and that to act otherwise would be a mistake.

#2

There is currently a large backlog of unsolved criminal cases throughout the country, and it will take several months to clear up this backlog. Therefore, it has been decided that, in the period from the 1st of June to 30th of September this year, both in the cities and in the countryside, all arrests should be stopped, with the exception of those currently under investigation and a small number of people approved for arrest by the relevant provincial, prefectural, and municipal Party committee with the approval of the relevant central bureau, so that we can concentrate on clearing up the backlog.

#3

To prevent «Left-wing» deviations in the heat of the movement to suppress counter-revolutionaries, it has been decided that, as of the 1st of June, in all localities across the country, including those places where very few executions have so far been carried out, the power to sanction arrests shall without exception revert to the prefectural authorities and the power to sanction executions shall without exception revert to the provincial authorities, who shall send representatives to deal with such cases in places remote from the provincial capital. No locality is to ask for modification of this decision. Regarding the arrest and trial of counter-revolutionaries cleared out of the Communist Party, the People's Government, the People's Liberation Army, cultural and educational circles, industrial and commercial circles, religious circles, democratic political parties, and people's organizations, the Central Committee's resolution of the 8th of May, 1951¹ should be followed, and all requests should be submitted to the greater administrative areas and greater military areas for approval. Important figures in the united front must be reported to the Central Committee for approval in order to be cautious.

#4

Cleaning up the backlog of a large number of criminals has been an extremely arduous task in recent months. All localities must mobilize a large number of cadres who are capable in all spheres by way of and under the centralized leadership of the Party committee, and adopt an offensive method in fundamentally clearing up the backlog of cases in the four months from June to September. The majority must be dealt with in six or seven weeks. If it is not dealt with in the summer and is delayed until the cold seasons of autumn and winter, serious consequences will inevitably occur.

In terms of the methods for cleaning up the backlog, we should begin by cleaning up those who can be executed and those who can be released. Prisoners who are sentenced to more than one year in prison must be organized to participate in labour, unless they are unable to work. In order to overcome adverse conditions, such as prison overcrowding, malnutrition, insufficient medicine, disease, death, and so on, the method adopted in Beijing should be followed of immediately releasing people from prison, subjecting them to forced labour, and awaiting trial while participating in labour. Prisoners who have been sentenced to less than one year in prison may be granted reprieve or parole and placed under the people's supervision if the majority of the people approve.

#5

As of now, it is necessary to start a planned screening of counter-revolutionaries hidden in the «middle layer» and the «inner layer». In accordance with the directive of the Central Committee, it has been decided that a preliminary screening in the form of rectification will be conducted this summer and autumn among all the personnel who have been retained since Liberation and among the intellectuals recently drawn into our work. The aim is to size up the situation and deal with a number of conspicuous cases. The procedure to follow is to study documents on the suppression of counter-revolutionaries, call on those among the above-mentioned personnel and intellectuals (not all of them) whose records are questionable to adopt a sincere and honest attitude, give a clear account of their history, and make a clean breast of what they have until now kept to themselves. This campaign to «clear oneself» must be put in charge of the leading member of the organization concerned; the voluntary principle must be applied and coercion must not be used. For each organization, the duration should be short, not drawn out. The tactics to adopt are to win over the many and isolate the few, in preparation for a further screening in the winter. This screening must first be conducted in the leading bodies, the public security bodies, and other sensitive departments, and then the experience gained should be popularized. During such screening in government departments, schools, and factories, it is necessary to have non-Party people sit on the committees in charge of this work, so as to avoid having Party members act in isolation.

#6

The public security bodies, including the police and public security forces, must be carefully screened, cleaned up, and expanded in the course of this great struggle to suppress counter-revolutionaries, according to the plan of the Nanjing Public Security Bureau, so as to create a sound public security system.

#7

In the current great struggle to suppress counter-revolutionaries, public security committees must be organized among the masses everywhere. Such committees should be elected by the people in every township in the countryside and in every department and organization, school, factory, and neighbourhood in the cities. The number of committee members may be as small as three and as large as 11 and must include reliable non-Party patriots, so as to make the committee a united-front type of organization for safeguarding public security. Under the leadership of the government and public security organs at the lowest level, such committees have the responsibility of assisting the people's government in eliminating counter-revolutionaries, guarding against traitors and spies, and safeguarding our national and public security. Their establishment must proceed in a well-guided way in those rural areas where the land reform has been completed or in cities where the work of suppressing counter-revolutionaries is well underway, so as to prevent bad elements from seizing the opportunity to worm their way in.

#8

The Movement to Suppress Counter-Revolutionaries now going on throughout the country is a great, intense, and complex struggle. The line for this work that has proved effective everywhere is the Party's mass line. This means leadership by Party committees, mobilization of the entire Party membership, mobilization of the masses, participation by the democratic political parties and by figures from all circles, unified planning, unified action, strict examination of the lists of persons to be arrested or executed, attention to tactics in different phases of the struggle, widespread propaganda and education (holding various kinds of conferences, cadre meetings, forums, and mass rallies, at all of which victims can bring their accusations and evidence of crimes can be displayed, and making propaganda through films, lantern-slides, stage performances, newspapers, pamphlets, and leaflets, in order to make the movement known to every household and individual), a break with the practice of working behind closed doors and being secretive, and determined opposition to the deviation of rashness. Wherever this line is completely adhered to, the work is completely correct. Wherever this line is not adhered to, the work is wrong. Wherever this line is adhered to generally, but not completely, the work is generally, but not completely, correct. We believe this line for the work is a guarantee for deepening the struggle to suppress counter-revolutionaries and for achieving full success. In the days ahead, it is essential to adhere completely to this line in suppressing counter-revolutionaries. What is most important here is strictly to examine the lists of persons to be arrested or executed and to do a good job of widespread propaganda and education. Do both well and mistakes will be avoided.

#9

In order to ensure that the great struggle to suppress counter-revolutionaries fully adheres to the above-mentioned line of work, to avoid making mistakes, and to correct the deviations that have occurred, it is necessary to mobilize the majority of people at the central, greater administrative area, provincial, prefectural, municipal, and special district levels. Inspection teams, each consisting of three people, should inspect the work to suppress counter-revolutionaries at these levels. Working groups at all levels that have not been mobilized must be mobilized within six months without delay. The standards for inspections are the various resolutions, instructions, and decrees issued by the central and greater administrative area authorities on the work of suppressing counter-revolutionaries.

#10

In order to quickly understand the situation and correct mistakes in a timely manner, it was decided that, within the four months from the 1st of June to 30th of September, at every level from the county to the central level, the directors of the public security bodies must hold deliver reports on the status of the work every five days by telephone, telegraph, or other methods without error.