LATEST DIRECTIVE OF NATIONAL PEASANT ASSOCIATION
13 June 1927

[Text] Because of the overly fast development of the peasant movement in the past, it has not been perfect organizationally. Coupled with the fierce counterattack of the local despots and evil gentry, this caused the rural struggle to become more and more severe. Unorganized actions have occurred whenever the superior organs failed to point out the possibilities. This association has instructed the peasant associations at all levels to make rectifications, so that the peasants in all places could, under the direction of the Peasant Association, continue to struggle against the reactionary feudal forces of all local despots and evil gentry with organization and planning, to fulfill the responsibility of overthrowing the economic base of the imperialist exploitation in the countryside and the political base of the warlords' domination in the revolution. It has also been pointed out that the present urgent goal should be to establish rural self-government by the peasants everywhere. According to reports from all quarters, the attack by local despots and evil gentry in the three provinces of Hunan, Kiangsi and Hupeh has been more serious, as more than 10,000 Party members, peasants, and workers have been killed. A sinister plot to incite revolutionary soldiers against the peasants is being pushed. They have often fabricated facts by calling "a deer a horse," and exaggerated things, in the hope of provoking the soldiers to clash with mass organizations, thereby alienating the army and the people, splitting the united front and sabotaging the Three Great Policies, in order to overthrow the party and the country. They would have no regret even though this would aggravate the agonies of the people and bring about national destruction. In the meantime, the corrupt bureaucrats have connived with the local despots and evil gentry in smearing the peasants, hoping to alienate the government from the people. For instance, the Peasant Association of Huang-kang has never tried to destroy tobacco crops, but the corrupt bureaucrats made a false report to the Central Government which disbanded the association. This is a case in point. Now, the Military Affairs Committee of the National Government has learned of the vicious plan of imperialism, warlords, corrupt bureaucrats, local despots and evil gentry, compradores, and all the reactionary forces to unleash a concerted attack on the National Government just as our armies

are launching the northern expedition against the Fengt'ien armed forces. It has therefore issued a directive to all armed comrades that they should not listen to false accusations and exaggerated propaganda. In order not to fall into a trap of the reactionaries, they should limit their actions to making investigations only. Nonetheless, the slaughtering of peasants by local despots and evil gentry in connivance with bandits and stragglers in the various cities have become more and more serious recently. Numerous instances have occurred in which conspiracies were hatched by corrupt bureaucrats to undermine relations between the government and the people. The various organs have received several cases of false accusations against peasants everyday. Under these circumstances, the peasant associations at all levels should request that the National Government (1) issue a directive to protect workers' organizations, workers' pickets, and the peasants self-defense army, and punish the reactionaries that slaughtered workers and peasants and sabotaged the rear, in order that such revolutionary organs as the trade union, peasant association and CP may have complete freedom to rally the revolutionary forces and to launch an anti-rising expedition; (2) liquidate the local despots and evil gentry in the various counties in Hupeh who connived with enemy soldiers and bandits to slaughter peasants and workers, and severely punish Chiang Kai-shek's agents and all reactionaries who spread divisive rumors in order to consolidate Wuhan; (3) issue a directive to punish Hau K'e-sheng [6079 0344 7382], Ch'ou Ao [0092 7663], P'eng Kuo-chun [1756 0948 6874] and Hsiao Yu-k'un [5618 5038 2492] and dissolve such reactionary organs as the Party Salvation Committee and Party Purification Committee, restore the Hunan Provincial Government, Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Trade Union and Provincial Peasant Association as well as all revolutionary organizations that have been destroyed, accept the petition of the Hunan Petition Group, and instruct T'ang Sheng-chih [0781 3932 4255], Chairman of Hunan Provincial Government, to take immediate action to suppress the reactionaries in Hunan; and (4) issue a directive to stop all actions in Kiangsi to oust the CP and worker and peasant leaders, as well as to severely punish the reactionaries who slaughtered the masses. It is incumbent on the Peasant Association itself to redouble its efforts to rally the peasants, tighten up the organization, and carry out armed self-defense in order to resist the armed attacks of local despots and evil gentry as well as to suppress the provocations by all reactionary and feudal forces. This is necessary because if the local despots and evil gentry are not suppressed, it will be impossible to establish rural self-government and democratic power, nor the realization of economic construction, while the foundation of the National Government will never be consolidated.

This directive is issued by the standing members of the Provisional Executive Committee of the National Peasant Association of China: T'an Yen-k'ai [6223 1693 7065], T'an P'ing-shan [6223 1627 1472], Teng Yen-ta [6772 3348 6671], Mao Tse-tung and Lu Ch'en [7120 3089], 13 June.