Provisional Regulations on the Organization of Local Soviet Governments

(November 1931)

Chapter I General Principles

Article 1 For the purpose of unifying the internal organization of local Soviet governments at all levels, these provisional regulations are hereby promulgated in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 2 Soviet governments at all levels within the territory of the Chinese Soviet Republic shall strictly observe these regulations and establish sound organization and work.

Article 3 The power to suspend or amend these regulations resides with the Central Executive Committee.

Article 4 Should doubts or disputes arise in the practical application of these regulations, the power of interpretation resides with the Central Executive Committee.

Chapter II Township Soviet

Article 5 The township Soviet is the organ of political power of the whole township, elected by the voters of the whole township in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, and is the basic organization of Soviet political power.

Article 6 The township Soviet shall not establish an executive committee, nor shall it establish a presidium; it shall have only one chairman. Large township Soviets may have one vice-chairman. When the chairman is absent, an acting chairman must be elected to exercise the functions and powers of the chairman.

Article 7 The township Soviet shall not be divided into sections; all matters shall be the responsibility of the entire Soviet. When there are

temporary matters, temporary committees may be organized to carry them out, for instance, when confiscating and distributing land, a land committee shall be organized to carry out the work of confiscating and distributing land, etc. The members of various temporarily established committees may, in addition to the deputies of the township Soviet, include active elements from the township to participate. Those persons who temporarily come to participate in the work of the committees shall have the right to speak but not the right to vote.

Article 8 Each deputy of the township Soviet must undertake a part of the work of the Soviet.

Article 9 The working personnel of the township Soviet shall, in principle, not be released from production.

Article 10 The working personnel of the township Soviet receiving living expenses are stipulated as follows: 1. One chairman, 2. One communications worker, 3. One other working personnel. However, the working personnel receiving living expenses shall in no case exceed three persons. In small or remote townships, or in times of economic difficulty, living expenses shall be maintained only for the chairman alone. Other working personnel shall not be given living expenses, or shall be subsidized for a portion of their living expenses.

Article 11 If the working personnel of the township Soviet receiving living expenses exceed the stipulated quota, approval must be obtained from the district executive committee.

Article 12 The general assembly of deputies of the township Soviet shall be convened by the chairman once every ten days. Extraordinary meetings may be convened in the event of special matters.

Article 13 The general assembly of deputies of the township Soviet is not restricted to being held in one place. It may be moved to various villages to be held, preferably in the village related to the issue under discussion.

Article 14 The township Soviet must make a work report to the voters of that township once a month. Townships consisting of several villages may go to each village to convene voters' assemblies to report on their work.

Article 15 Resolutions and orders on issues of important significance shall be communicated to the people of the whole township in the form of proclamations, and mass assemblies shall be convened to make reports; certain unimportant issues shall be conveyed orally by the deputies.

Article 16 The authority of the chairman of the township Soviet is to convene meetings, supervise the implementation of resolutions, and handle day-to-day affairs.

Article 17 The township Soviet has the power to resolve various dispute issues that do not involve illegal acts.

Chapter III City Soviet (Excluding Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government and Provinces)

Article 18 The city Soviet is the organ of political power of the whole city, elected by the voters of that city in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Like the township Soviet, it is the basic organization of Soviet political power.

Article 19 The presidium shall be elected by the general assembly of deputies of the city Soviet, and the presidium shall then elect one chairman and one vice-chairman.

Article 20 To carry out the work of various departments, the city Soviet may establish the following sections: internal affairs, labor, culture, military affairs, health, grain, worker-peasant inspection, land, etc.

Article 21 Each deputy of the city Soviet must participate in the work of at least one section, and in addition to the deputies, active elements of that city may also be drawn in to participate in the work of the various sections. Persons who are not deputies of the city Soviet but come to participate in the work of the various sections shall all have the right to speak but not the right to vote.

Article 22 The various sections of the city Soviet may organize executive committees to arrange and plan the work of each respective section. The executive officers thereof must be appointed by the presidium of the city Soviet.

Article 23 The city Soviet may appoint instructors to guide and inspect the work of the organs under the jurisdiction of the city Soviet.

Article 24 Under the labor section, an unemployed labor introduction office and a labor inspection office may be established. Under the worker-peasant inspection section, an appeals bureau may be established.

Article 25 The secretariat system shall be abolished, and a general affairs office shall be established to manage the general miscellaneous affairs within the city Soviet. The general affairs office shall have one director.

Article 26 Under the general affairs office, the following units may be established: documents, printing, accounting, general services, receiving and dispatching, etc.

Article 27 To handle the written work of the presidium of the city Soviet, one

technical secretary may be employed.

Article 28 The working personnel of the city Soviet receiving living expenses are stipulated as follows:

1. One chairman, 2. One vice-chairman, 3. Two military section members, 4. One labor section member, 5. One land section member, 6. One finance section member, 7. One internal affairs section member, 8. One worker-peasant inspection section member, 9. One culture section member, 10. One health section member, 11. One director of the general affairs office, 12. One each for documents, printing, accounting, general services, receiving and dispatching, and communications, 13. Two other working personnel.

However, the quota of working personnel receiving living expenses shall not exceed nineteen persons. In times of economic difficulty and in small cities, the working personnel of the city Soviet receiving living expenses shall not exceed nine persons; the work of various sections may be held concurrently, and a portion of the working personnel may not be released from production.

Article 29 If the quota of working personnel of the city Soviet receiving living expenses exceeds the stipulated quota, approval must be obtained from the county executive committee.

Article 30 The meetings of the presidium of the city Soviet shall be convened once every week; the general assembly of deputies of the city Soviet shall be convened once every two weeks. Extraordinary meetings may be convened in the event of special incidents.

Article 31 The meetings of the executive committees of the various sections of the city Soviet must be convened once every week; the meetings of the full personnel of the various sections must also be convened once every week, and their minutes shall be sent to the presidium for approval.

Article 32 The meetings of the full personnel of the various sections of the city Soviet and the general assembly of deputies of the city Soviet are not restricted as to where they are held; they may be moved to the enterprises and organs where the masses are located, preferably to the enterprises and organs related to the issues under discussion, in order to draw the masses into participating in the issues under discussion.

Article 33 The city Soviet must make a work report to the voters of that city once a month.

Chapter IV District, County, and Provincial Executive Committees

Article 34 The organization of the three levels of district, county, and province is roughly the same. The district executive committee is elected by the district Soviet congress, the county executive committee is elected by the county Soviet congress, and the provincial executive committee is elected by the provincial Soviet congress. The executive committees at each level shall then elect a presidium. The district and county executive committees shall elect one chairman and one vice-chairman; only the provincial executive committee shall elect one chairman and two vice-chairmen.

Article 35 Under the district, county, and provincial executive committees, the following departments may be established: land, finance, labor, military affairs, culture, health, worker-peasant inspection, grain, internal affairs, etc.

Article 36 The district, county, and provincial executive committees may appoint instructors to guide and inspect the work of lower-level Soviets.

Article 37 The provincial executive committee may engage specialized personnel to assist the work of certain departments.

Article 38 Under the labor department, a labor inspection office and an unemployed labor introduction office may be established; under the worker-peasant inspection office, an appeals bureau may be established; under the internal affairs department of the province, a people's police office, a municipal administration office, and a criminal investigation bureau may be established.

Article 39 The district, county, and provincial executive committees must establish a general affairs office to handle general miscellaneous affairs. Under the general affairs office, there shall be units for documents, printing, accounting, general services, receiving and dispatching, communications, etc.

Article 40 To handle the written work of the presidium, one technical secretary may be employed.

Article 41 The working personnel of the district executive committee receiving living expenses are stipulated as follows:

1. One chairman, 2. One military department head, 3. One finance department head, 4. One land department head, 5. One culture department head, 6. One worker-peasant inspection department head, 7. One labor department head, 8. One general affairs office head, 9. One documents clerk concurrently handling receiving and dispatching, 10. One each for printing, general services, and communications.

However, the quota of working personnel receiving living expenses shall not exceed fifteen persons. If, in times of

financial difficulty, the work of various departments may be held concurrently, the working personnel receiving living expenses shall not exceed seven persons.

Article 42 If the working personnel of the district executive committee receiving living expenses exceed the stipulated quota, approval must be obtained from the county executive committee.

Article 43 The working personnel of the county executive committee receiving living expenses are stipulated as follows:

1. One chairman, 2. One vice-chairman, 3. One military department head, 4. One finance department head, 5. One grain department head, 6. One land department head, 7. One culture department head, 8. One health department head, 9. One labor department head, 10. One worker-peasant inspection department head, 11. One internal affairs department head, 12. One general affairs department head, 13. One each for documents, printing, general services, and receiving and dispatching; two to five for communications, 14. Five other working personnel.

However, the total number of working personnel shall not exceed twenty-five persons. If, in times of financial difficulty, the work of various departments may be held concurrently, the working personnel receiving living expenses shall not exceed fifteen persons.

Article 44 If the working personnel of the county executive committee exceed the stipulated quota, approval must be obtained from the provincial executive committee.

Article 45 The working personnel of the provincial executive committee receiving living expenses are stipulated as follows:

1. One chairman, 2. Two vice-chairmen, 3. One head and one deputy head each for the internal affairs department, 4. One head and one deputy head each for the military department, 5. One head and one deputy head each for the finance department, 6. One head and one deputy head each for the land department, 7. One head and one deputy head each for the culture department, 8. One head and one deputy head each for the worker-peasant inspection department, 9. One grain department head, 10. One health department head, 11. One head and one deputy head each for the labor department, 12. Five personnel for handling the government organ newspaper, 13. One director of the general affairs office, 14. One technical secretary, 15. Two documents clerks, two printing clerks, one general services clerk, one accountant, four communications clerks, 16. Fifteen to fifty-three other working personnel. However, the total number of working personnel shall not exceed ninety persons.

Article 46 If the working personnel of the provincial executive committee exceed the stipulated quota, approval must be obtained from the Central Executive Committee.

Article 47 The organizational committees of the various departments of the district, county, and provincial executive committees shall have

the respective department heads as chairmen; the members thereof shall be appointed by the executive committee of that respective level, and the number of members may range from three to nine.

Article 48 The various departments stand on an equal footing; no one department may direct another department. If there are issues involving one department and another, they may jointly discuss and proceed; relatively important issues shall go through the presidium of the executive committee.

Article 49 The meetings of the departmental committees and the meetings of the presidiums of the executive committees at all levels shall each be convened once every week. Extraordinary meetings may be convened in the event of special matters.

Article 50 The plenary meetings of the members of the district executive committee shall be convened by the presidium of the district executive committee once a month; the plenary meetings of the members of the county executive committee shall be convened by the presidium of the county executive committee once every two months; the plenary meetings of the members of the provincial executive committee shall be convened by the presidium of the provincial executive committee once every four months. Extraordinary meetings may be convened in the event of special incidents.

Article 51 For the purpose of examining the finances of the Soviets at all levels, examination committees may be organized to undertake this work. The members of the financial examination committee shall be appointed by the presidium of the executive committee at the higher level or the same level.

Article 52 The district executive committee must make a work report to the voters of that district once every two months; the county executive committee must make a work report to the voters within that county once every four months; the provincial executive committee must make a work report to the voters within that province once every six months. The masses of voters may criticize the work of the government at these work report assemblies.

Article 53 These work reports may be written and entrusted to a certain executive committee member or a lower-level Soviet government to make the report to the masses of voters on their behalf. The opinions raised by the voters must be forwarded to the government that made the work report for reference.

Chapter V Methods of Work

Article 54 The working methods of the Soviets at all levels are generally the same. The general

working methods are hereby stipulated as follows:

A. Meetings.
B. Periodic inspection of the work of the various sections, departments, and lower-level Soviet governments.
C. Periodically hearing and examining the work reports of the various sections, departments, and lower-level Soviet governments at meetings.
D. Periodically reporting on one's own work to the voters.
E. Organizing revolutionary emulation and conducting periodic reviews of emulation results.
F. Proclamations, circulars, etc.
G. Using various means to broadcast the various resolutions of the Soviet government among the masses.

Article 55 Meetings are divided into: the section executive committee meetings of the city Soviet, the meetings of the full working personnel of the various sections, the meetings of the departmental committees of the county and provincial executive committees, the presidium meetings, the plenary meetings of the executive committees, the general assembly of deputies of the city Soviet, and the congresses of the district, county, and provincial Soviets.

Article 56 The various sections and departments must inspect the organs under their jurisdiction and related to them at least once every two months. The results of the inspections shall be reported at the section executive committee meetings or the full personnel meetings, or at the departmental committee meetings.

Article 57 The presidium must inspect the work of the various sections and departments at least once every two months; the presidium must inspect the work of the Soviet governments under its jurisdiction at least once every three months. The results of the inspections shall be reported at the presidium meetings or the plenary meetings of the members of the executive committee.

Article 58 The various sections or departments must periodically hear the work reports of the respective organs under their jurisdiction at the section or department meetings; the presidium must periodically hear the work reports of the various sections or departments and the lower-level Soviet governments; the executive committee shall periodically hear the work reports of the presidium or the lower-level Soviet governments.

Article 59 Organize various emulations: group against group, village against village

emulation, city against city emulation, district against district emulation, province against province emulation; conclude emulation treaties, and upon the expiration of the treaty period, hold a review of emulation results. The higher-level Soviet government shall dispatch representatives to review and judge the results of the emulation, and award certain prizes to the emulation victors.

Article 60 Through proclamations, circulars, orders, wall newspapers, pamphlets, etc., ensure that the policies and resolutions of the Soviet government penetrate deeply among the masses.

Article 61 The worker-peasant inspection department has its special tasks; it may establish appeals bureaus to receive appeals from workers and peasants. At the same time, it may entrust loyal and reliable worker and peasant cadres to collect appeals from the worker and peasant masses on its behalf, and appeal boxes must be hung in every locality so that the worker and peasant masses may submit opinion letters. In addition, shock brigades of the worker and peasant masses may also be organized to suddenly inspect the work of certain organs, so as to tear off the masks of bureaucrats and corrupt elements; mass tribunals may also be organized to try bureaucrats and corrupt elements who have committed illegal acts.

Chapter VI Specific Work of Local Soviet Governments

Article 62 The specific work of local Soviet governments (from township Soviets and city Soviets up to provincial executive committees) is stipulated as follows:

(1) Execute the orders, directives, instructions, decrees, resolutions, etc., of higher-level Soviet governments.
(2) Formulate work plans for that government covering one month to six months, and work schedules for realizing such plans.
(3) Before convening the general assembly of deputies of the Soviet, the plenary meetings of the members of the executive committee, the presidium meetings, and the meetings of the various sections and departments, prepare agendas, reports, proposals, and other materials.
(4) Resolve dispute issues within that region.
(5) Direct the work of lower-level Soviet governments and make
reports to higher-level Soviet governments.

(6) Conduct registration of population, land, marriages, deaths and births, contracts, documents, and industry and commerce, etc.
(7) Handle matters concerning land issues, such as confiscation, distribution, arrangement of cultivated land and water conservancy, etc.
(8) Collect state taxes on behalf of the government.
(9) Formulate and examine budgets and final accounts.
(10) Handle voluntary labor, such as assisting the Red Army, disaster relief, road repair, etc.
(11) Organize local armed forces, handle guard duties, sentry duties, intelligence communication, assisting the Red Army in combat operations, etc.
(12) Plan and execute construction matters in that locality.
(13) Carry out cultural and educational undertakings within that Soviet territory.
(14) Municipal construction.
(15) Management of the people's police and criminal investigation.
(16) Carry out health matters.
(17) Struggle against bureaucratic and corrupt elements.
(18) Realization of labor insurance.
(19) Carry out social insurance undertakings.

Chapter VII Finances of Local Soviet Governments

Article 63 All revenues of local Soviet government organs at all levels must be completely turned over to the organs at various levels of the People's Commissariat of Finance of the Central Government, to be entered as revenue items of the state treasury of the Chinese Soviet Republic.

Article 64 The expenditures of local Soviet governments must be drawn up into budget proposals, submitted to higher-level

Soviet governments for approval, and expended in accordance with the approved budget proposals.

Article 65 Expenditures under item one shall not be diverted for other purposes. If diverted for other purposes, approval must be obtained from the higher-level Soviet before such diversion can be made.

Article 66 The amounts stipulated in the budget proposal shall not be exceeded. If it is necessary to exceed the budget proposal, approval must be obtained from the higher-level Soviet.

Article 67 Upon the expiration of the budget proposal, a final account proposal must be prepared in the same form in duplicate; one copy shall be submitted to the higher-level Soviet government for approval, and the other copy shall be kept within that Soviet government for reference during inspection.

Article 68 Any violation of the financial expenditure procedures of these regulations shall be punished as the crime of wasting public funds.

Chapter VIII Signing of Documents

Article 69 Documents of local Soviet governments must be signed by the chairman and vice-chairman. If the chairman is absent, the vice-chairman shall sign in the name of the acting chairman; for Soviet governments without a vice-chairman, documents shall be signed by the chairman; if the chairman is absent, they shall be signed by the acting chairman.

Article 70 Documents related to a certain section or department must be signed by the chairman jointly with the head of that section or department.

Chapter IX Inspection of Working Personnel of Local Soviet Governments

Article 71 When local Soviet governments hire working personnel, two copies of a curriculum vitae must be filled out; one copy shall be kept in the Soviet government where that working personnel works, and the other copy shall be sent to the Soviet government one level higher for inspection.

Article 72 Higher-level Soviet governments have the power to inspect and remove at any time the hired working personnel of lower-level Soviet governments.

Chapter X Supplementary Provisions

Article 73 These provisional organizational regulations shall take effect from the date of promulgation.

Chairman of the Central Executive Committee: Mao Zedong

Vice-Chairmen: Xiang Ying, Zhang Guotao

Attachment: Organizational System Charts

Organizational System Chart of the City Soviet

Grain Section / Culture Section / Health Section / Worker-Peasant Inspection Section

Internal Affairs Section / Labor Section / Military Section / Finance Section / Land Section / General Affairs Office

Appeals Bureau / Criminal Investigation Bureau / Municipal Administration Office / Unemployed Labor Introduction Office / Labor Inspection Office / Receiving and Dispatching Unit / General Services Unit / Accounting Unit / Printing Unit / Documents Unit

Organizational System Chart of the District, County, and Provincial Executive Committees

Provincial Executive Committee Presidium

General Affairs Department

Documents Unit

Communications Unit

Accounting Unit

General Services Unit

Printing Unit

Receiving and Dispatching Unit

Finance Department

Land Department

Military Department

Worker-Peasant Inspection Department

Internal Affairs Department

Labor Department

Culture Department

Health Department

Grain Department

Appeals Bureau

Criminal Investigation Bureau

Municipal Administration Office

People's Police Office

--- Notes

Note: The organizational system of the district and county executive committees is the same as that of the province.