Article 22: Disciplinary Rules (Strict Compliance) All members must abide by the following eight points of attention for the Red Army: (1) Three Major Rules of Discipline (Board 1): Do not take a single item from the masses; do not harass the people; speak kindly and behave properly. (2) Eight Points of Attention: Buy when you purchase, sell when you dispose; return borrowed items promptly; compensate for any damage to public property and always take good care of it; do not defecate indiscriminately; do not search the belts or bags of enemy soldiers. Anyone who violates any of the above rules—(1) or (2)—shall be subject to disciplinary action as decided by the commanding officers after being reported to the higher authorities. All members, regardless of rank, must obey. (3) Failure to convene meetings on time, tardiness at meetings, or non-compliance with resolutions passed by the Soldiers’ Congress shall be punished, at the discretion of the respective-level soldiers’ committees, by either a warning or expulsion from membership. (4) Members who fail to pay their dues for three consecutive months without just cause shall be expelled.

Chapter IV: Work Article 23: Under the guidance of the Political Department and the Political Commissar, we shall vigorously carry out the land revolution—(1) establishing political power; (2) distributing land; (3) arming workers and peasants. Article 24: We will strive to propagate the principles of the soldiers’ movement and disseminate the political significance of the Red Army through various means: holding mass meetings, convening representative assemblies, organizing congresses, and so forth. We warmly welcome new recruits and captured enemy soldiers, and bid farewell to those being discharged. Article 25: Maintain close ties with local mass organizations at all times, and in areas where no such organizations yet exist, make every effort to establish them.

Regulations of the Red Army Soldiers’ Congress, Article 26: Raise the cultural level of the soldiers themselves by conducting literacy campaigns, running youth schools, publishing small soldiers’ newspapers, discussing political issues, and practicing public speaking. Article 27: Conduct surveys of socio-economic conditions. Article 28: Provide appropriate recreational activities for the soldiers, such as organizing clubs, social gatherings, races, singing, games, dancing, costume performances, speeches, martial arts demonstrations, and football matches. Article 29: Supervise supply matters and conduct regular audits of rations. Article 30: Attend to sanitary matters, ensuring cleanliness of drinking water, food, clothing, and camp sites; promoting personal hygiene; designating fixed latrine areas for troops; encouraging soldiers to dress appropriately in the morning and evening, cover themselves with blankets, wash their clothes and feet regularly, and so on. Article 31: Show concern for sick and wounded soldiers by sending personnel to assist them—carrying stretchers, fetching water for washing, preparing tea, cleaning quarters, organizing fundraising drives to collect clothing and funds to aid them—and, based on actual circumstances, propose measures to improve treatment for the ill and injured, recommending that military and political organs implement these measures. Article 32: Investigate and register fallen comrades, and make arrangements to provide assistance to their families.

Chapter V: Finances Article 33: The monthly budget for each company-level soldiers’ congress shall be five yuan; for battalions and directly affiliated units, ten yuan. These funds will be disbursed uniformly by the Political Department. If any member is found guilty of gambling, the soldiers’ congress may confiscate the gambler’s property and turn it over to the state, with eighty percent going to the company or soldiers’ congress and ten percent to the battalion or regimental soldiers’ congress. Each member shall pay a monthly fee of one copper coin.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions Article 34: Should there be dissatisfaction with these regulations, more than one-third of the members may submit a proposal; the soldiers’ congress may then present its views to the Political Department for revision, which, upon approval by the General Political Department, shall be put into effect. Article 35: These regulations shall come into force on the date of their promulgation. Printed by the General Political Department of the First Front Army of the Red Army. Documents on the Fourth Red Army’s Entry into Fujian and the Gutian Conference. Fujian People’s Publishing House, December 1979. Regulations of the Red Army Soldiers’ Congress, Article 26.