DIRECTIVE ON THE LAND POLICY
22 July 1936

[Text] To make the soviet truly the center of unity of the people of the
entire nation, all its current policies must embody a clear popular
essence and a profound national quality. The land policy has always
occupied the major position among all its policies. By carrying out the
land revolution, it will not only relieve the peasants, constituting 80
percent of the national population, of feudal exploitation, but also
encourage them to participate actively in the national liberation cause
and reinforce the national revolutionary strength. Since the Central
Politburo conference in December last year, the soviet has made many
important changes in the land policy (such as the rich peasant and small
landowner policies, the decisions on class analysis and certain special
problems, etc.). Such changes have gained the support of the broad people and produced practical results in the soviet area. Nevertheless, to
attain the goal of liquidating the feudal remnants and building, within
all possibilities, a broad people's resist-Japan united front by means
of the enforcement of the land policy, we must further scrutinize it and
make the necessary changes.

Therefore, the Central has made the following decisions on this issue:

(1) All the land and assets of spies and traitors will be confiscated
in their entirety.

(2) The land, grain, buildings, and assets of the landlord class will
be confiscated. After confiscation, the landlords will be given land
for farming and the necessary production tools and material. The quantity and quality of the land will be determined by the majority opinion
of the local peasant masses.

(3) The land of the following categories of small property owners will
not be confiscated:

(a) Free lances, technical personnel, teachers, medical students, small
merchants, and handicraftsmen.

(b) Workers who saved the money for the land by their own labor.

(c) Small landlords whose living conditions are very inferior.

(d) Those who were originally not landlords but were forced to rent
their land out due to the loss of labor force.

(e) Those who worked as hired help even though they rented out their own
land.

(4) The land belonging to resist-Japan soldiers and those dedicated to
the resist-Japan cause will not be confiscated.

(5) The land and the surplus production tools (farm tools; domestic animals) of the rich peasants will not be confiscated. Where the division
of all land is carried out upon the demand of the basic peasants, the
land of the rich peasant landlords must also be included in the division,
but the rich peasants must receive their shares according to the general
rules of division (receiving the same shares as the peasants in general).

(6) In regard to the land belonging to large farmowners and enterprisers
(enterprise owners who do not rely mainly on land rent exploitation, but
on hiring large numbers of help to farm their land or raise livestock),
as their production pattern is rather progressive, they will be handled
according to the rich peasant policy. Where the majority of the peasants
demand division, the land, animals, and grain of the large farmowners
and enterprisers must be surrendered for division.

(7) In case of merchants who are also large landlords, their land is
handled similar to the landlords in general, but the commerce part of
their assets must not be infringed upon.

(8) High interest loans are cancelled. The Soviet People's Government
will promulgate a new loan regulation and restrict the interest rates in
the soviet area. Nevertheless, commercial loans and loans between the
laboring people are not included among those cancelled.

(9) The leasing of land is permitted in the soviet area. However,
regardless of the type of owner renting out land, the cruel and slavish
leasing of the old days must be abolished. The leasing regulations
promulgated by the Soviet Government must be observed without exception.

(10) The living conditions of rural workers must be improved. The
Soviet Government will formulate special regulations on rural hired help
for promulgation and enforcement.

The foregoing decisions become effective immediately in the newly created
soviet areas. In the old soviet areas where the land has been divided,
the original method will be followed and there will be no change. The
Soviet Central Government will formulate and promulgate the concrete and
detailed regulations for implementation of the foregoing decisions
separately.

Central, 22 July 1936

"Selections of Current Event Discussions," Chih-hsin Printing Press,
1 May 1937